Twisted Choices
by black-venom-heart
Summary: Set in modern day, Alanna must mascarade as a boy to attend the school of her dreams as she enters the scene of an all boy's school, where high school drama ensues, but why does Jon become so attached to her? SLASH Alan/Jon
1. Make Your Own Choices

**Chapter 1**

A delicate, rather expensive vase smashed against the door and fell onto the floor in pieces. An enraged Alanna stood glaring at said door, the very one her father had left through after telling his children his plans for their future.

"What is this crap? I can't believe the nerve of that man. Agh!" Alanna screamed with rage and in one swift and deft motion of her arm, swept the contents of her father's desk onto the floor. She didn't even wince at the sound of breaking glass or the ink that splattered across the costly carpet.

"Please Alanna, calm down," her twin brother Thom meekly said from the corner in which he was cowering in. He loved his sister but she was awfully scary when she got into a rage like this. "You wouldn't want to upset father."

"Ha!" the red-haired, violet-eyed girl threw back her head and laughed. She tugged at one of the bookcases in the room and succeeded in toppling the whole thing and the books onto the floor. "Upset? Him? The only thing he would be upset about is if I burned his books, which is quite tempting right now…" An evil look came into her eyes. The thought was tantalizing sweet. Thom sighed and went over to his sister. In looks they were exactly alike, with Thom being some few inches taller than his sister, but personality wise they were complete opposites. Thom always thought that Alanna should have been born the boy, and he the girl.

Their father had called them into his study that afternoon to tell them of the schools he had enrolled them in. For Thom, their father had enrolled him in the most prestigious school in Tortall, Conte d'Royale, most notable for its fencing and equestrian departments; for Alanna, a high-ranking, religious, all-girls school. Thom had seen the stubborn set of Alanna's jaw after hearing the news and knew that a storm would soon follow.

While Alanna was now looking thoughtfully at the hi-tech, expensive computer determining how easily it would break, Thom tried to reason with her.

"Come on Alanna, it can't be that bad. I have it worse! I'll be expected to take part in all that sword-fighting crap and other physical sports. I hate all of that!" Thom exclaimed.

"You think you have it bad? At least you have a choice! You can sit inside and study and not do any of that! I have to wear a skirt! I can't do fencing or ride a horse! I can't take camping trips or play field hockey! I won't be able to do what I love! I'm going to be learning how to be a good mother and wife! What the hell is up with that? I mean are we seriously in the medieval ages or something?" She turned around, lifted up the desk and threw it against the wall, making a noticeable dent.

"Just the idea of being surrounded by a bunch of giggly girls makes me sick! No boys to joke around with. The nearest guys are at that Tech School down the road..." A light bulb suddenly sprung up in her mind.

"Wait a minute! What if we switch places?"

"Huh?" Thom was thoroughly confused.

"You write a letter to that stupid girl's school and say there was a misunderstanding and that you were supposed to be enrolled in the Tech School, and I'll take your place at Conte d'Royale. Your handwriting looks exactly the same as fathers!"

"Are you crazy?" Thom exclaimed. "Conte d'Royale is traditionally a boy's school! How the hell are you going to mascaraed as a boy for four years?"

"It'll be easy." Alanna said excitedly as she paced up and down in front of her brother. "I don't even have a girls figure so that'll be easy to hide. I'll just cut my hair in a guy's style but long enough that it will cover some of my face. No problem."

"But what about sharing a dorm room and going camping and swimming and one thousand other things that could go wrong?"

"I can say that I have some sort of medical condition that prevents me from going swimming. And I can always request to switch to a single room." Alanna answered, her plan becoming more appealing and more possible with each second.

"I don't like this at all Alanna," Thom tried to sway his sister's mind. "I know the Conte school accepts girls but no girl has ever been accepted. And if you go ahead with this crazy scheme and dress up as a boy, what will you do if you get caught? Because I know you _will _get caught."

Alanna sighed again and looked into her brother's eyes, as purple and shining as her own.

"Thom," she huffed and placed her hand on her hip, adopting a pose Thom knew too well, one where she would stubbornly stand until she won an argument.

"Let's put it this way alright? Other people have told us how to live our lives for fourteen years. Our lives! Father won't have to live my life. And he certainly won't have to live yours. Why should we leave it up to him? Don't you think it's time to do things our way?" Thom hesitated. It was his dream to become a top engineer and start his own mechanical engineering company. His whole room was filled with design plans, books and models of many buildings and machines. This was what he wanted to do for the rest of his life. He would be better off if he attended the Tech School to learn the trade he so loved.

"Yes Alanna I do think it is about time we start making our own choices. I'm in." he said with a small smile. "But if you get caught, then I never had anything to do with this ok?" Alanna violently grabbed him by the shoulders and hugged him until he was out of air. He was bigger than her but she was stronger.

"Ah-laaan-naaaa," he choked out.

"Oh sorry!" Alanna let go and spun around the room. "Just watch me Thom I'll become the greatest student that stuck-up school has ever had. It'll be easy!" As she continued to spin, she proceeded to fall over the desk she had previously thrown.

Thom groaned. Not a great start.


	2. Stealing in Disguise

_**Chapter 2**_

Alanna stared wide-eyed out of the window of her father's silver Bentley as they drove nearer the golden-glided gates of Corte d'Royale. The huge school was situated on a large hill and was reminiscent of a large medieval castle, complete with towers and large battlements. Huge vines of ivy had climbed up over part of the eastern wall of the school and the front lawn was an impressive, broad, green carpet of grass that looked storybook perfect. Huge, ancient and towering trees surrounded the beautiful school and the vast campus.

They drove through the shining gates and up the sweeping drive way to the front of the school where, in front of the entrance was an archway that protected the door from the elements.

"Damn fancy school," Coram muttered from the driver's seat. He was accompanying Alanna under the assumption of being her butler. He had agreed rather reluctantly to the twins plan, but required a dire amount of brandy and Scotch to persuade him. For the occasion, he had put on a smart suit and combed his hair.

"Wouldn't want to embarrass this family anymore," he had stated this morning when Alanna had commented on his suit. He still thought she would be found out within a week but knew, however, that Alanna would represent the Trebond family better then Thom could.

A well-dressed butler of the school came over to the silver Bentley and opened Alanna's door. Scrutinizing eyes swept over Alanna. She gulped nervously and hoped her disguise had worked. She had bound her breasts and cut her hair and hoped to the gods that all went well.

Apparently it worked as the butler smiled. "Welcome to Corte d'Royale, Master Alan. We fervently hope you will enjoy your stay." Alanna breathed in relief.

"Please step inside and our staff will take care of your personal belongings. You will be expected in the headmaster's office. You are one of the last arrivals and I'm sure he will be awaiting you. One of the maids will show you the way." He swept his arm in the direction of a small, brown-haired maid standing on the entrance steps. Alanna looked at Coram through the rear-view mirror and wished he would come with her. Catching her eye in the mirror he said "Not to worry lad, you'll be fine. I'll be seeing you later when we've all been settled."

Alanna nodded and stepped out of the car and followed the small maid into the school. Her first impression was of an elegant flight of stairs at the end of the entrance hall. Two grand staircases led to the west and east wing and were joined in the middle, making it look like a royal palace. Tapestries, vases and potted plants decorated the hall.

Not that it needed any more decoration, Alanna thought. The marble flooring and pillars lining the side were impressive enough. The maid took her up the staircase leading to the west wing and walked down a carpeted hallway lined with bright windows. Another staircase, another hallway, a left down one hallway and a sharp right down one more, Alanna was lost and confused. They stopped in front of an elegantly carved door.

"Is this it?" Alanna asked.

The maid nodded. "I will wait out here to show you to your rooms once you are finished."

Alanna took a deep breath and opened the door. She didn't know what she was expecting but the study she had entered was a marvelous room. As she was staring around, a cough directed her attention to the desk silhouetted by the double windows at the other end of the room.

"You must of Alan Trebond? Correct?" A tall man with long, stringy brown hair sat behind the desk. "My name is Duke Gareth Naxen and I am the headmaster here."

Alanna gave a small bow. Duke Gareth looked at her quizzically and then peered through his glasses to Thom's foraged letter. Her heart did a leap in her chest. Would he see through the forgery?

He sighed and leaned back in his chair. "This all seems to be in order. I hope you will take part in more activities then your father did." Alanna nodded. "You have been assigned to a room of your own for now, since all other rooms were taken." Alanna thought she might faint with relief.

The headmaster handed her a sheet of blue paper. "This is your schedule. Since this is quite a large school, you'll have to ask some of the older boys to show you around but I'm sure they'll be more than willing to. Also note the large number of clubs you may take advantage of. That is all. Any problems can be reported to your consular, teacher or in extreme cases, me. Enjoy your stay." He shook hands with Alanna and she was dismissed.

* * *

Alanna followed the maid through a seemingly large maze of corridors and stairs, each as elegantly and tastefully decorated as the last. They entered the dorm side of the school and stopped once again in front of a door.

"This will be your room." The maid needlessly pointed out. She handed Alanna a key. "All your belongings have been brought up" she smiled sweetly. "You should lock your room after you leave or else the other boys will see fit to steal your things. Breakfast starts at 7 am and goes until 8 am. Class starts at 8:30 am and lunch is at 12 while Dinner begins at 6 pm. Questions?"

Alanna shook her head, thanked her and entered her new room. Once inside, she laughed and flung herself on the bed. She had succeeded! Plus she had a room to herself! She pulled out her cell phone and texted Thom the good news. He congratulated her and reminded her to be careful. He then told her how much he liked the Tech School already.

She pulled out the blue sheet of paper with her printed schedule. For A days, she had math, then gym, history and equestrian studies at the end of the day. Not bad. For B days, her first period was biology, arithmetic, art and Yamani studies. Alanna then looked at the pile of clothes on her bed. She picked them up and found them to be the school's uniform.

"Pretty smart looking," she commented. Since orientation would begin in a little while, she put on her uniform. Her uniform consisted of black dress pants, a white button-up, collared shirt, a red blazer and a gold and red striped tie. The small badge on the left side of her blazer was in the shape of a shield and had a silver griffin rearing up on its hind legs against a white and blue background with the school's name.

She looked in the room's floor length mirror, thankful for the blazer which helped cover her chest. Overall, she looked as smart and strapping as any other boy in the school.

Eager for adventure and flooded with confidence from her uniform, Alanna looked over herself in the mirror, smiled and left her room. Remembering the maid's advice, she locked the door and set off down the hallway. Upon turning the first corner, she walked straight into an older group of boys. She fell backwards and looked up upon their sneering faces.

"Well, well, well," said one of them, presumably the leader. "What do we have here? Freshmeat?" the other boys laughed.

With a sinking feeling, Alanna knew she had stumbled into trouble.

…**Cliffhanger. Hey check out the link to my blog in my profile to see what kind of haircut I had in mind for Alanna as well an example of how I imagined Corte d'Royale. Tell me what you think overall. Til next time :D**


	3. Amazing Times We Live In

Alanna stared up at the sneering boys in front of her.

"Well, now, imagine a little shrimp like you wandering around in a school like this."

"Hey leave him alone," a boy of medium height and blonde hair tried to intervene. "He didn't do anything to you"

"Shut up! He ran into me, that's enough" The leader of them, a boy with sandy blonde hair and blue eyes, growled. He turned back to Alanna. "Where are you from? The backwoods?" He taunted her. The rest of the group snickered. Alanna felt a burst of rage build up inside her.

"Where are you from, the slums? Alanna retorted. Not a smart choice as the boy turned red. "I bet your mother was a low-life slut – "The rest of her insult was cut off as the boy grabbed the front of her shirt and blazer and threw her against a wall. Alanna was dazed and was ready for the boy's fist when she heard a clear voice coming from behind.

"What is going on here?" A boy the same height as the blonde bully came through the crowd that had gathered. He had ebony black hair and bright sapphire eyes. He glanced at Alanna, still situated on the floor. "Anybody like to explain?"

The blonde bully rushed forward with an explanation. "Yes, this boy, this imbecile insulted me and then tried to attack me –"

"Oh shut up Malven, won't you?" A large boy with brown curls told him.

"Now, who actually wants to tell me what happened?" The blue-eyed boy asked again.

This time, the stocky blonde boy who came to Alanna's rescue spoke up. "The red-haired boy accidently ran into Ralon Malven as he was just turning the corner. He fell down and Ralon started bullying him and saying he had come from the backwoods." He gestured at Alanna. "Then Fire-Head here came back saying Ralon was the son of a low life slut from the slums" The small crowd of boys tittered. Most of them were glad someone had the guts to finally stand up to Ralon. "Then Ralon threw the boy against the wall. Then you came Jon."

The blue-eyed boy who apparently was called Jon had a small grin on his face, stroking the stubble on his chin. "Well now Ralon, do you really want the headmaster to find out about this?" Ralon nervously sputtered out an incoherent reply. "Whatever, Malven, if I see you bullying Fire-Head or anyone else, I'll personally beat you and send you to the headmaster." Ralon give Jon a death-glare and strode off, his friends following him.

A small chiming melody drew the remaining boys' attention to Alanna.

"Sorry that's mine," she muttered and took out her cell phone. Coram had texted her and asked her if she could get ahold of some brandy for him, since housekeeping staff and butlers weren't allowed to have alcohol on campus. Alanna sighed and shoved her cell phone back into her pocket and stood up to face John and his friends.

"Sorry if Ralon was such a bother to you." Jon smiled. "He's a senior this year and thinks that gives him a special right to bully anyone younger than him."

"Oh he wasn't that much of a bother." Alanna replied. "You can't expect much from a pig."

The boys laughed and John held out his head. "I like you already Fire-Head. I'm Jonathon Corte. I'm a junior here."

Alanna gasped. This was the son of the family who founded the Corte d'Royale school a few centuries ago. The family now was into politics and practically ran the whole country.

"Pleased to meet you, my name is Alan Trebond. I'm a freshman here." She hoped Jon mistook the nervousness in her voice as a side effect of being bullied. She hoped her façade worked.

"Trebond eh? That's defiantly not backwoods!" Laughed the brown curled boy. "I'm Gareth, Gary to my friends, Naxen and I'm a junior as well. My dad runs the school. This is Raoul Goldenlake, another junior" He pointed to a large muscular boy next to him. "The blonde there is Douglass, a sophomore, Alexander Tirragen, a sophomore" A dark-haired slight boy nodded in her direction. "And this shy little blonde guy is Francis Nond" He gave a shy little wave. "Francis is a freshman too."

"Well then orientation is about to start," Jon said. "You can come sit with us." Alanna thanked him and they set off through the maze of Corte d'Royale.

* * *

During the walk, Alanna found out that Gary liked to talk, a lot. He told her about the history of the school, some certain interesting fact of a piece of art they passed and random gossip from around the school. She had no idea who any of the people were that Gary talked about. Alanna didn't pay much attention to the headmaster as he talked through orientation, as his son was whispering through the whole thing.

After orientation, Alex went to meet up with some people from the Robotics and Tech Club, Francis went to the mailroom to pick up something he had forgotten so Alanna was left with Raoul, a very talkative Gary and Jon. They found a little alcove to sit in.

"So how 'bout it Alan? What's your schedule?" Jon asked. Alanna handed her schedule to him.

"Not bad, we have equestrian studies together as well gym and Yamani studies." Jon said.

Gary gave an exasperated sigh. "Oh how I wish I didn't have to take Yamani studies. That class is so pointless, there's no homework, and we have to read so much from a textbook all the time..."

Raoul patted his shoulder sympathetically. "I know it's hard for you mate, reading and actually doing work." He was cut off by a mock punch from Gary. Alanna laughed. Raoul took out a sleek hand-held device, something that belonged more to the future then now.

"Whoa what's that?" Alanna exclaimed. Whatever it was, it was pretty slick.

"Oh this?" Raoul held up his space-device. "It's a new model from the company my dad runs. It's a prototype, so it won't be on the market for another year."

"Oh," was all Alanna could manage. Goldenlake Industries was the second largest and powerful industry in Tortall. She looked over at Jon who was lunging in a patch of sunlight, whose family commanded the political arena for as long as anyone can remember. Then Gary; his father was headmaster at the most prestigious school in the country. She wished suddenly that her father had done something besides write a whole encyclopedia set worth of books.

"Oh, My. God," Raoul suddenly said. He put his slick space phone away and took out a small piece of paper. "Men," he said gravely. "Do you know what this is?"

Jon looked over, an eyebrow arched in suspicion and surprise. "Don't tell me you're trying to hack into the teacher's database for the answers to the tests again."

"No, but good guess Jon." Raoul waved the paper in the air. "Gentlemen, say hello to our instant invitation to the hottest parties, even hotter girls and a chance to get laid."

There was an awkward silence that lingered too long between the group.

"Umm," said Alanna, taking a wild guess. "Is that some special address to a club?"

"No, that's close enough. This is Delia's phone number." Raoul said, with an air of triumph. Jon and Gary immediately perked up.

"Oh you don't mean THE Delia, the green-eyed, black-haired beauty?" Gary whispered.

"The very same." Raoul grinned.

"Mithros above," Jon breathed. "How did you get that?"

"Connections, connections, dear Jon," Raoul laid down on the bench in the alcove.

"Wait," Alanna was confused. "Who's Delia?"

There was an outburst of surprise from the older boys. Jon knocked his head against the wall, Gary choked and sputtered on the juicebox he just opened and Raoul fell off the bench he just laid down on.

"Jeez, where have you been?" Jon demanded. "Delia is only the most beautiful, prettiest…."

"Most gorgeous," Raoul added

"Has the sexiest curves," Gary interrupted.

"The most perfect girl in the whole land!" They all said simultaneously. Alanna raised a doubtful eyebrow.

"He doesn't believe us." Said Gary in disbelief. He threw an arm around Alanna's shoulder. "When we go to a party, we'll point her out."

"Yea, you'll probably be amazed by her beauty." Raoul supplemented. From some unseen speaker in the school, a bell sounded that signaled dinner. Jon sighed and stood up. He ran a hand through his long, black hair that had a bluish tinge in the sunlight.

"Come on Fire-Head, let's go get a table before Malven eats all the food."

Alanna giggled and went allow with her new friends.

* * *

Dinner had passed uneventfully, aside from Gary's constant chatter. Alanna had gotten to know Douglass somewhat better, the boy who had stood up for her. Raoul seemed glued to his super slick space phone and waited impatiently for a text reply from Delia while Jon idly catapulted small vegetables with his spoon in Raoul's direction. The dining hall was a large lofty chamber with chandeliers hanging above the ten long tables that seated the two thousand or so boys of Corte d'Royale. Large murals of the gods were painted on the ceiling and the walls and flying buttresses' supported the ceiling. The trim and borders along the walls, doorways and fireplaces were glided with gold.

"Everything in here is historical and original," Gary explained when Alanna commented on the splendor of the school. "And extremely expensive since everything is about 600 plus some years."

"Can you imagine living in the medieval period?" Jon asked. "I mean we'd probably all be knights in training or something. What are they called?"

"Oh pages and squires," Raoul asked in between bites of his steak. "We'd be apprenticed to an older knight as a squire."

"Haha I bet Alex would be that creepy knight who tries to assassinate the royal family." Jon playfully nudged Alex in the ribs as the dark boy scowled and the other boys laughed.

"I bet Alan would whip out his super knight slash ninja skills and be the best swordsmen in the land." This brought about another outburst of laughter, as well as a blushing Alanna.

"Whoa can you wrap your mind around that?" Gary exclaimed. "We would be riding horses, and jousting, and using real swords."

"And saving damsels in distress and of course the kingdom." Raoul pointed out.

"Kingdom?" Jon laughed. "Who could possibly be king?"

"Technically, your dad," Douglass interjected. "Then you'd be prince!" The whole table burst into laughter at such a ridiculous thought.

* * *

It was after dinner and Alanna sat on her bed texting Thom. She had thrown her blazer across her desk chair. It was a long day and now was a great time to relax, she thought as she fell back onto her soft feather mattress bed. A knock on her door made her sit up quickly. She got up, checked her shirt in the mirror and opened the door to reveal Jon.

"Hey I'm not disturbing am I?" he asked as he smiled slightly. Alanna grinned.

"Not as disturbing as Ralon that's for sure. Come in"

Jon stepped in and closed the door. "Damn" he breathed. "You're lucky you have a single room. I share a room with some kid named Thomas and so far his side of the room is like a biohazard zone." Alanna giggled. "Anyway Alan I accidently took your schedule this afternoon and I know you'll be needing it tomorrow." Jon handed over a blue sheet of paper. As he gave it to her his hand brushed hers. Alanna's heart skipped a beat and immediately started to flutter. Jon didn't think anything of the touch and looked around her room.

"You really need some posters in here. So I'll come here in the morning and we can go to breakfast. That alright?" Jon asked. Alanna nodded. Jon smiled and went over to the door.

"Good night Fire-Head," he said as he tussled Alanna's violently red hair. He left Alanna's room leaving Alanna with a fluttery heart and an unexpected emotion.

**Phew six pages baby! Haha it'd suck for them in medieval times wouldn't it? Please review! i know there's more then one person reading this story, but must of all i hope you actually do enjoy this!**


	4. New Day, New Challenges

**Phew! I foolishly started this story while working another huge story. Updating is a b-i-t-c-h between the two. Anyway, can't believe I got to Chapter 4! Also I found a mistake! In Alanna's schedule she had math scheduled on both days, math on A days and arithmetic on B days (A and B days will be explained) anyway Alanna has Math first thing on A days.**

The soft, slow voice of Bob Seger's singing drew Alanna from her sleep. She sat up groggily and turned off her radio alarm, which had been playing "Turn the Page" by Bob Seger. The neon green numbers on the clock displayed the time as six a.m., more than enough time to shower and dress without anyone intruding during which she was in the shower. Alanna swung her legs out onto the cushiony carpet, silently hoping someone had cleaned it after the last occupant of the room had graduated or moved out. She stumbled to the bathroom, managing not to bruise her legs on any of the furniture. Alanna squinted her eyes tightly when she flicked on the bathroom light. The bathroom itself was a good size, almost as big as her old bathroom was. Black tiles flicked with gold sparkles covered the bottom half of the bathroom wall while the top tiles were white, with random tiles here and there embellished with swirling designs. A large, basin sink was situated under an oval mirror and a small shelf next to the sink was conveniently put there to place her toothbrush on. Alanna didn't pay as much attention to the bathroom's design but instead, went straight to the shower and turned on the hot water, putting her fluffy towel on the towel warmer rack to be warm when she got out of the shower.

_They really spoil us here, _she thought as she threw her sleeping shorts and t-shirt onto the hook on the door. She gratefully stepped into the shower and let the hot water rinse her off, steaming around her feet. Since she had to dress like a boy, she might as well smell like one she thought, and had stolen some of Thom's shower gel and shampoo, which smelled manly enough, but nice enough that she wouldn't mind smelling like it. Alanna had drawn the line at wearing boxers though. She had argued about this with Thom but as usual, had won. She would just have to make sure she wore a belt at all times. She stepped out of the shower and practically wrapped herself up in the warm towel. A good thing about being small: it is amazingly easy to wrap yourself in large fluffy towels. Alanna had never cared much about her hair, so she brushed it out and let the bangs fall into her face. The Corte d'Royale uniform completed her look.

Alanna hung the tie around her neck, seeing as she couldn't figure out how to copy the technique she did yesterday to tie it. She quickly packed her schoolbag for the day, remembering to pack her sneakers for gym. She gave another stab of attempt in trying to work out her darned tie. Alanna was still trying to tie her tie when a knock sounded at the door. Alanna hurriedly looked at the clock . It was 6:45 am. Jon was obviously early. She answered the door with one hand, the other hand was busy holding up her tie.

Jon grinned when he saw her. "Need some help there Fire-Head?"

"Only if you can tie a tie," Alanna answered. Jon moved into Alanna's room, followed by Gary, who was surprisingly a cheerful morning person. Jon did her tie in a few, fluent motions. Alanna looked at her perfect tie in the mirror.

"You don't know how many times I've had to attend state functions," Jon caught her fingering her tie in the mirror. "I have a pretty vast collection of ties if you ever need one."

Alanna laughed. "Most people would be impressed by their collections of stamps or books yet here you are with a collection of ties."

Gary chuckled slightly while Jon tried to reconcile. "No joke, I have ties in every color, pattern, print, material, everything. I must have well over two hundred since I last counted them." Jon was still going on about his wonder ties as the trio left Alanna's room and made their way to the dining hall.

* * *

Breakfast passed uneventfully. They met up with Douglass and another boy Colin as they stood in line to get their food. Raoul appeared before the end of breakfast, still looking half asleep and without a tie, as Alanna noticed. She took notice of Raoul's crumpled schedule and asked to take a look. Raoul made some sort of affirmative grunt and continued to eat the rest of Jon's porridge, while Jon himself was in a heated decision with Gary over the correct type of tie to wear to an outdoor spring event. Alanna was surprised to see that Raoul had Algebra II with her that morning. She had taken Algebra I already during her 8th grade year at her old school.

"Hey Raoul," Alanna poked the large, curly headed boy. Raoul turned toward her, now eating Gary's apple. "Why are you only in Algebra II?" Raoul grinned and then suddenly started choking on a piece of apple. Alanna thumped him on the back and apple pieces were spewn across the table.

"That's what you get when you steal people's food!" Gary exclaimed to a gasping Raoul. Jon had now discovered his missing porridge and resigned himself to a roll from the bread basket sitting in the middle of the table. He chucked one at Raoul's direction, missed him completely and hit another person in the back. The boy turned around and was none other than Ralon Malven.

"Hey, what the hell do you think you're doing?" Ralon sneered, looking at Alanna.

"That was your early Christmas present from me," Jon answered back. "Be lucky it wasn't already-chewed-apple." Ralon looked confused and decided to let it drop, not wanting to get in a fight with Jon.

Raoul was now recovered and answered Alanna. "You see here, I failed Algebra II my sophomore year so I have to take it again." He was now peeling on orange while Alanna added a generous amount of creamer to her coffee.

"I took Algebra I freshman year and should be taking Geometry by now, but sadly, I'm not that good at math." He sighed. "If you ever need help in math just ask Alex. He's a whiz when it comes to that stuff. He's taking AP Calculus already this year." Alanna looked over to Alex, who was juggling random pieces of fruit as Douglass and Colin looked on. Just then, the bell signaled the end of breakfast.

"Come on I'll show you to the classroom," said Raoul. He swiped a few pieces of bread and fruit into a napkin and put them into his backpack for later. Alanna and Raoul said good-bye to the other boys and made their way to the classroom. It didn't take very long to arrive at their destination. By now, the morning summer sun was up and shining brightly, promising a beautiful and warm day.

_Perfect for horse-back rising later, _thought Alanna. Raoul sat them three quarters of the way from the front of the room. More people arrived, the last few running to avoid being tardy on the first day. The teacher's name was Mr. Newman and he was tall, handsome and brown-haired. He was a likable character and greeted Raoul warmly and said he hoped he wouldn't see him again until he took Calculus. The lesson was basic review, which Alanna was grateful for. She hadn't bothered to study over the summer. An hour and a half later another bell sounded and Alanna went off to gym, saying good-bye to Raoul who dropped her off by the gym and went off to his next class. Alanna found an over-eager Jon and Gary, who told her gym class was the best here.

"We have the best sporting equipment you can buy," Gary said as they picked up their gym uniform. Red shorts and a white T-shirt with the school's emblem on it.

"Yeah and we actually do stuff in gym class," Jon added. The trio entered the locker room and Alanna's heart nearly stopped.

She had to change in front of all these boys! Her secret would be revealed!

Jo noticed her hesitation. "What's wrong Alan, forgot your gym shoes?"

"No, um I have them right here!" She pulled out her gym shoes quickly. "It's just that, I really have to go to the bathroom! Too much coffee at breakfast!" Alanna exclaimed and hurried off to the bathroom portion of the locker room.

Gary looked oddly at Jon. "He only a small cup of coffee this morning."

Alanna went into a stall and locked it. She breathed a sigh of relief. A plausible excuse, but she couldn't use it all the time, it would look too odd. Perhaps she could change in the stall the rest of the year and just say she was really self-conscious. It could work. She changed out of her school uniform into her gym clothes and came out of the stall to look in the mirror. Alanna almost groaned with anguish. There was a faint rising of her chest, even though she had bound her breasts. She thought she could pass it off as chest muscles when Jon poked his head into the bathroom.

"Wow you changed too, that was fast." Jon himself was missing his shirt which was dangling from his hand. Alanna couldn't help but notice how toned Jon was under his uniform.

"Funny I see you haven't finished changing yet." Alanna retorted. She out her things in her gym locker and followed Jon, who was struggling with his shirt, out onto the track outside.

Jon wasn't kidding when they actually had a workout in gym. The teacher made them run a mile, followed by sit-ups, push-ups and one hundred meter sprints. They then jumped hurdles and by the end of class Alanna thought her legs just might fall off. She had done terribly on the hurdles, since it wasn't her fault her legs were too short to do the exercise. On the bright side, she had the fastest mile time in the class. It was turning into a scorching day, with the sun's merciless rays beating down upon the boys, many of whom stripped themselves of their shirts. Alanna herself was extremely sweaty after all that and her shirt was sticking to her body, making her chest even more noticeable. Gary and complimented her on her "awesome pec muscles for such a short guy" and Alanna accepted it without complaint. She was all too aware of the next challenge facing her: showering. She was too nasty and sweaty to not take one, but how to disguise her sex now was a complete mystery.

She hurried on ahead, saying she felt like she might get sick with the heat, and entered the locker room. She gathered up her clothes and headed to the showers. Luckily, they were individual stalls, with a depressed area on one end of the stall to take a shower, and a little place to hang up your clothes and get dressed in front of that. Alanna felt she was getting too lucky today, but decided to make the best of it while it lasted. Other boys trickled in and Alanna could hear shouts of laughter as the boys undressed at random, not caring if they were baring their bodies to each other. Not for the first or last time, Alanna wished she had been born a boy. Washed, dressed and ready for lunch she waited as Jon and Gary got dressed, turning her back on them as they took off their towels, completely naked underneath. Going from the gym to the dining hall was easy and they were there before the huge lunch crowd arrived. Lunch was in the form of edible ravioli, steak, or tofu if you preferred, and a wide variety of side dishes. She joined in the raucous conversation of her new friends, not quite getting rid of the images of Jon and Gary naked.

After lunch, they had forty five minutes of free time, during which Alanna and her friends moved themselves into the courtyard with the bubbling fountain that Alanna could see from her bedroom. Gary and Alanna got into a heated discussion of the techniques of fencing, which Alanna was very passionate about. She knew about the fencing club and wondered where she could sign up.

Gary laughed when asked this. "You don't sign up, they choose you. You have to go up against Duke Naxen and the two captains of the fencing team and they'll decide if you're good enough to join."

"Are you on the fencing team?" Alanna asked, curious.

"Of course I am!" Gary exclaimed proudly. "My father taught me when I was seven and I fell in love with it. Jon, Raoul, Alex and Douglass are on the team as well. Well, actually they should be, since they were on it last year. If you make it onto the team once, then you're basically guaranteed a spot on the fencing team for the rest of your time at Corte d'Royale. But don't worry," Gary added, seeing Alanna's panic stricken face. "There's not a set number of people allowed on the team and the people deciding on your admission usually are pretty easy on who they select. A lot of people drop out as soon as they find out it's not as glamorous as they thought it would be."

Alanna thought of the fencing equipment sitting in her room. Could she stick with it or would it sit there unused, gathering dust over the course of the year? Alanna decided not to dwell on it and pulled out her schedule.

"Hey Gary, what's with these A and B days?"

Gary had gotten a popsicle from lunch and was just now eating it. "Ok so today is an A day right? That means you have these four classes today," Gary pointed to the classes on her schedule under the A day column. "On every A day you have those classes. And on B days you have the classes listed under the B day column. Days switch off so today is an A day, tomorrow is a B day and so on and so forth. Then since we have three A days this week, next Monday will be a B day and the whole cycle repeats itself. Do you understand?" Alanna slowly nodded. Gary laughed. "It's not complicated, just confusing when you don't day what day it is. Also it's a good thing. If you get homework assigned on one day, its not due til the next time you have that class so you basically have two days to do your homework" A bell sounded, marking the end of their free time. Gary shoved the rest of his popsicle into his mouth and gave a cheery wave and went off to Chemistry. Alanna joined up with Francis and they went to history class. Francis told her that the history teacher was supposed to be amazingly good.

They sat nearer to the front of the class. The classroom had numerous maps of Tortall from every era, from the reign of kings to modern day. Books were stacked in random piles in the bookshelf and the tables around the room. A dry erase board was in the front of the room, a large picture of a man with a hefty beard in a superhero costume drawn on the board, presumably the teacher. Some student had drawn it, apparent by the signature scrawled under the picture.

The teacher walked in with a beard as wild as depicted in the drawing. However the similarities ended there. He was plump, man, of average height, with a small red nose and a shaggy looking appearance yet his eyes radiate intelligence and spirit. He studied the picture on the board and smiled, facing the class.

"How I wished I actually looked like that." The class let out a small about of nervous laughter. Alanna couldn't decide whether to laugh or not so she stayed silent.

"My name is Myles Olau and I will be your teacher for this year. I hope you might actually learn something but that will depend entirely upon you." he put his hands behind his back and Alanna decided she liked this man.

"Now who's up for a round of Jeopardy?" Excited hands shoot up around the classroom, happy they were being submitted to something else besides another dreary boring review worksheet.

* * *

History passed reasonably well and Alanna was excited for the rest of the year in his class. With Francis's help, she found the way to the stables, and was displeased to find Ralon in the same class as her. Thankfully, Jon was in her class as well as Alex. Ralon seemed weary and afraid of the two boys, even though he was older than them. The riding instructor told them they would not be doing any riding that day but instead be choosing their horses. Alanna walked into the stable, inhaling the sweet scent of hay and horse. A man was sweeping out one of the horse stalls. Inside the stall was a beautiful chestnut stallion, large and noble. The man caught her looking at the horse and stopped what he was doing.

"You be admirin' th' Dukes horse then?" he said with a smile.

"He's such a beautiful horse though." Alanna said shyly.

The man wiped his hand on his jeans and held it out to Alanna. He had a strong grip, callouses apparent from hard work. "I'm Stephan an' I be th' horse handler here. If your mount be giving you a lick of trouble don' be shy just let me now." He looked over to the riding instructor who was at the other end of the stable, explaining to a first year that cell phone were not acceptable in the stables or anywhere during school hours. "That ther' instructor is a'pretty goo' wiff the horses and all but he's an acting all high and noble like 'round anyone he don' like so best come to me." Alanna gratefully accepted his suggestion and introduced herself.

Stephan nodded to the stall next to the Duke's horse. "If you be wantin' a nice horse to start out wiff, tha' mare in there is nice enough."

Alanna went over to inspect the horse, a small enough for her size. It had a dark grey coat with a white stocking on one leg, a white blaze down its head and a black and white striped mane. The mare neighed quietly and went to sniff Alanna's hand when she stuck her hand through the bars of the doors. The mare evidently liked her and started licking her hand. Jon came over to see what horse Alanna had chosen and found a giggling Alanna with her arm thrust between the bars.

"That's not a dog you know," He joked.

Alanna turned and blushed, pulling back her arm. "So what amazing horse did his high mighty highness chose?" Alanna asked in a sarcastic tone.

Jon held up his hands in mock surrender. "Whoa. Whoa calm down Alan. I have my own horse." He pointed to a bay gelding two stalls down. "He was a birthday gift on my thirteenth birthday." Alanna sighed and wished her father had given her such presents. Jon noticed her sigh and threw an arm around her shoulders.

"Come on Fire-Head, you still haven't seen the movie theater."

_Movie theater_? Alanna thought astonished. It wouldn't be surprising if they had an Olympic sized swimming pool as well.

* * *

As it turned out, the school did have an Olympic sized swimming pool. Alanna asked Gary this as a joke and he had answered her seriously. He was fast becoming her number one source of information at this school. The movie was interesting enough, with no apparent plotline; just two men trying to survive the zombie apocalypse and then ended up turning into zombies themselves, with lots of gay love scenes throughout its length. Gary and Jon started a popcorn war and when numerous pieces ended up in Raoul's lap, he loudly threatened to throttle the both of them. This caused loud shushing sounds from other boys in the theater as well as a volley of popcorn from them. Alanna didn't know why she had agreed to go along, since her first day had been trying and hard. To add to this, Coram constantly texted her, asking her to get ahold of some alcohol, which she had replied to with a steam of profanities.

Finally at nine o'clock she finally stumbled into her room and threw off her uniform and undid the bandages tying back her breasts. It hurt, when she untied them; they were sore from confinement. Thankfully they weren't very large, though but large enough to be a nuisance. Alanna into her pajamas and laid down in bed, snug under the covers. Random thoughts from that day were running around in her head: Jon's tie collection, Alex juggling fruit, the math review sheet she had to finish, the fitness log she had to keep for gym, the thought of Gary and Jon naked in the locker room, just Jon naked…

A loud knock interrupted her thoughts.

"Hey Alan, are you still awake? It's Jon. Sorry to bother you." Alanna groaned and didn't understand how many more times her heart could take these surprises. She dragged herself out of bed, only to realize her chest was evident under her small t-shirt. Alanna looked around, panicking slightly. No jacket in sight, couldn't wear her blazer…. She sighed in relief and snatched up her bathrobe, securing the string around her waist.

She opened the door to a breathless Jon. He was panting hard and quickly closed the door behind him. Running footsteps sounded in the hall outside and passed Alanna's room, and whoever it was ran into another hallway. Jon gasped and slid down onto the floor, then decided to lay down all the way.

"Sorry Alan," he said. "Couldn't get caught." Jon grinned and looked at her calves. Alanna realized they were slim and hairless, and went and sat down on her bed, legs crossed.

"So are you going to bother telling me why that person was chasing you?" Alanna asked, drawing attention away from her calves.

"Hahaha, you'll get mad at me and won't want to have anything to do with me afterwards. That was an administrator chasing after me."

Alanna raised an eyebrow. "Really now, what was so bad that they'd have to chase you for it?"

A slight pause ensued. "Well, they saw me and two other boys smoking on school grounds."

Alanna was shocked momentarily. "What! They saw you! They could expel you right now!"

Jon sat up and grinned sheepishly. "They saw me, but not me face. It was kind of dark out so I guess they really couldn't make out any of the other boys either."

Alanna fell forward into her pillow. Jon was a great friend but did she want to risk being expelled? Jon came over and sat down next to her.

"Don't worry Fire-Head, that was my last time," he said in a serious voice. "It's too risky and besides, it'd suck to be expelled my junior year." He tousled her hair and Alanna sat up.

"I'll be going back to my room now so you don't have to worry about harboring criminals," Jon joked.

"Yes, you better get going," Alanna answered. "You wouldn't want me to "accidently" let lose you were in my room after lights out, now would you?"

Jon gasped and held a hand over his heart. "You're killing me Alan," he said in mock despair. "I didn't think you were that kind of person. Plus it's not even lights out yet."

"No one else will know that," she smiled and elegantly waved at the door. "At your leave, you highness."

Jon laughed quietly and went to the door. Alanna caught a whiff of smoke coming from him.

"You better take a shower before they let lose the dogs."

"Yes, mother," Jon winked and left her room, whistling loudly down the hall to his room.

Alanna was once again left stunned by Jon's departure. _Mother…does he know, _wondered Alanna. _Or was it playful teasing?_

**Yay! Four thousand and two hundred words, nine pages, eighty reads, and five reviews (I'd really like more of those reviews ;) ) If you haven't seen them already, pictures of Corte d'Royale are on my blog, link in my profile. Thanks to everyone who added this to favorite story and story alert. All there's left to do is review, come on, nine pages that deserves a review!**


	5. Surviving This Day

**Honorable reviewer mention goes to: meus dulcis angelus (I'd really like to know what that means. Is that latin?), allreader – I love you for reviewing all the stories of mine that you've read; Royal Lady – thanks very much hope you stick with this story; and Unlike-me – That's a wonderful relief, I'm glad you enjoy my writing. **

**Chapter 5**

For Alanna, it seemed that the night had come and gone too quickly, as she was still tired when her alarm starting blaring at six a.m., this time waking her up to Guns 'n' Roses. She whacked her snooze button and rolled over, intent on catching another five minutes in her cozy bed and another chance to rest her aching legs from gym class the day before. Five minutes turned into ten, which turned into twenty and so on until Alanna heard a loud knocking on her door.

"Good morning, Alan. Need help with your tie today?" Jon's voice broke through Alanna's sleepy haze of confusion. She gasped and looked at her clock. Six forty-five! How on earth did it get to be so late?

"One minute!" Alanna shouted and threw back her covers. No time for a shower, she speed-brushed her teeth and swiped on her deodorant. Her clothes were scattered around her room where she had carelessly thrown them last night, being too tired to hang them. She grabbed a new shirt and found her pants and blazer on her desk. Within a few minutes she was dressed and ready to go. Once again she let her tie hang from her neck, resolved to let Jon tie it again. She wrestled with the lock and hauled her schoolbag after her.

"Good morning," she breathlessly greeted Jon and a very cheerful Gary; it was now apparent he was a morning person.

"Overslept have we now?" Jon grinned, taking note of Alanna's disheveled hair and her loose tie.

"Don't blame him Jon," Gary answered, sighing loudly. "They made those beds specially to be as comfortable as possible to keep us in bed and make us oversleep, therefore making us late for class."

"I swear Gary you and your school conspiracy theories are getting ridiculous. Your father himself is on the school board and said most of them are muddled headed old geezers." Jon yawned, which Alanna noted with happiness. It seemed Jon hadn't caught much sleep either. "Come on I actually want to eat my porridge today. They truly made it edible this year."

On their way down to breakfast, they passed Ralon and two of his friends on the staircase. Even though Ralon wouldn't have dared start anything with Gary and Jon nearby, he managed to give Alanna an evil look. Alanna held back a slight shudder and reminded herself not to be caught alone with him. At breakfast, Jon managed to eat his much wanted porridge without interruption. Raoul again came late to breakfast, shirt untucked, no tie and a lethargic air about him. Alanna laughed quietly to herself as Raoul poured himself a large cup of coffee while Gary held an energetic conversation with another junior in his Chemistry class; unlike Gary, Raoul was no morning person. Alanna found, to her delight, that she had Biology first thing in the morning with Francis, whom she very much liked. He seemed shy at first but turned out to be a very witty and intelligent boy. A bell sounded, marking the end of breakfast. Alanna gulped down the rest of her grapefruit juice and watched Raoul stuff more food into his schoolbag for later. He winked at her and left for his class, clapping Alex on the shoulder who apparently was in the same class with Raoul that morning.

Alanna and Francis entered the Biology room and seated themselves at a lab table. The classroom was a very interesting place as the teacher had decided to put up various specimens preserved in some sort of clear liquid which Alanna couldn't identify. Frogs, squirrels, numerous fish and lizards were all preserved and seemed to stare at you with beady black eyes. Numerous potted plants were all around the room which included everything from ferns and roses to small palm trees. A large aquarium was placed against one wall that contained colorful tropical fish. The teacher was a young man named Mr. Clement, who turned out to be extremely nice and seemed to know everything there was about tropical fish. He told them their first assignment would be a scavenger hunt. He handed out a checkmark list to all the students and told them that all the items on there were natural plants that could be found in his room and on the grounds outside. They could find the ones in his room as they were all labeled and Mr. Clement told them they had a week to find the others on the school grounds. To prevent cheating, he explained, he added random names of plants that could not be found here so they could not simply check off the entire list. The bell rung and class was dismissed. Alanna and Francis had partnered up for the assignment and were excitedly talking of Mr. Clement's classroom.

Alanna's schedule put her in Writing and Composition next and she had no idea where to find it. By chance, as she was freaking out when Francis left her to go to his next class, she found a map of the school was printed on the piece of paper stapled to her schedule. Alanna wanted to pound her head against a hard surface for so stupidly over-looking such obvious and vital information. She grumbled all the way to the fourth floor where she made it just in time. The class was, as she expected, boring. The teacher was a middle-aged man, Mr. Huron and had a voice that seemed to drone on and on and on. He gave them a list of books they would have to purchase for that semester, and Alanna recognized none of the titles on the list. Hopefully Gary would be able to help her out. She knew no one in that class and hoped she would make a new friend as time went on. Everyone practically ran out of the door when class ended. Alanna got up to leave and was stopped by Mr. Huron.

"Mr. Trebond a moment please." He said.

Alanna was confused; as far as she knew, she had done nothing wrong that day and had not been late. She hesitantly approached his desk.

"Upon my word, you needn't look so frightened," the teacher chuckled. "I was simply inquiring as to the state of your father." Alanna relaxed and smiled slightly.

"Busy as ever, sir. I believe he is working on a new book on the cultural differences between Tortall and the Yamani people." She paused. "I wasn't aware that you knew him sir."

"Oh I know him very well. We exchange news every now and then and when we were younger we attended this very school, I myself being a year ahead. Very fond memories indeed." He smiled. "Now don't let me be keeping you from lunch. Off you go young sir. I shall tell your father I had the pleasure to meet his son." Alanna nodded and hurried out.

_No, no, no, _Alanna thought. _If Mr. Huron tells him Alan is attending Corte d'Royale, he will know Thom and I switched places. _The simple idea of leaving so soon after she had arrived frightened Alanna. She was still thinking about it as she made her way to the lunch room, following her small map. After walking down a hallway, she soon realized she was very lost and cursed her luck. She tried backtracking and soon found herself on be on the right track. Alanna smiled and set off with renewed energy as a voice behind her growled.

"Going somewhere squirt?" Ralon emerged out of the shadows.

"Yeah, somewhere away from you!" Alana snapped back, determined not to let Ralon see her nervousness.

"That's pretty funny, backwoods boy," Ralon grinned and crossed his arms, taking a few slow menacing steps towards her. "So where are your friends now? Have they all abandoned you?" He taunted.

"I'm surprised none of your so-called friends have abandoned you," Alanna came back. She fervently hoped that someone would walk into the hallway soon.

Ralon closed the gap between them and grabbed her upper arms. "I'll make you pay for that, backwoods boy!" Alanna was knocked back as Ralon's fist collided with her face.

* * *

Jon was opening a can of soda in the dining hall when he noticed a certain red-haired boy was missing. He checked his Rolex watch and was worried as Alan should have been here by now. What worried him further was Ralon's absence as he added two and two.

"Speak of the devil," he muttered as Ralon walked in, sporting a split lip and torn, bloodied knuckles.

"Hmm," Raoul grunted as he ate his spaghetti. "Did you say something Jon?"

Jon rubbed his chin in thought. "Alan isn't here and Ralon just walked in looking as if he just beat someone up." They both observed Ralon who was overly happy at the moment, never mind his hurt lip.

Raoul set aside his food and cracked his knuckles, ready to beat the truth out of Ralon. Jon tugged hard on Raoul's sleeve and the large boy sat down.

"Come on Jon," he hissed at his friend. "Ralon has been beating up kids since he got here, everyone knows that. But now he's gone too far. He deserves to be shaken up."

Jon nodded in agreement. "Yes, but we don't know for sure if it was Alan he picked on. For all we know Alan could be wondering around lost in this huge school."

"I sure hope you're right." Raoul sighed. He was no longer hungry as he surveyed his half eaten food. "Everything seems too coincidental for my liking."

As if on cue, Alanna sat down quietly and discreetly next to Raoul, hoping his large frame would hide her. Gary, however, noticed the bright red shock of hair and called her out.

"There you are Alan, we missed you -" Gary gasped as he saw her face. "Mithros above what happened to you?" Jon and Raoul looked over to see Alanna who had a black eye, a few specks of blood left from her bloody nose and rumpled clothes, evidence of a fight.

"Nothing, I fell down the stairs, that's all," Alanna said firmly.

"Liar," Jon retorted. "Someone obviously helped you down those stairs, didn't they?"

Alanna growled and jabbed her fork in Jon's general direction. "No one did anything to me. I was being stupid and clumsy and I was hopelessly lost."

Raoul tried a new tactic. "It's alright Alan," He said gently. "It's nothing bad if someone picked on you; there's nothing to be ashamed of."

"Well I'm not ashamed of anything because nothing happened!" Alanna angrily exclaimed. She slammed down her fork and got up. "Excuse me but I forgot something in my room." Before anyone could stop her, Alanna rushed out of the dining hall and into the courtyard where she had sat with the others yesterday after lunch. She sank onto one of the stone benches, graciously carved with ancient runes, warmed by the summer sun. She leaned back and lifted her injured face to the sun, closing her eyes to enjoy the beautiful fresh air after being kept inside all morning. The splashing of water from the fountain soon soothed her steaming temper. Alanna sighed and a rush of guilt along with embarrassment washed over her. She couldn't believe she had gotten beaten up by Ralon on the second day. Jon and the others only had been concerned about her well-being and just look how she treated them. Two boys coming from lunch entered the courtyard to enjoy a game of catch before class started. Alanna knew others would soon follow so she grabbed her schoolbag and decided to find some more of the plants on her list for biology. This gave Alanna an opportunity to explore the vast grounds of the school. Not knowing if she was allowed to leave the courtyard during lunch, Alanna was on alert for anyone approaching. Amazingly, she found that the school had a series of different greenhouses. This delighted her as she soon found plants from different regions of Tortall and the countries surrounding it. She gave up trying to find the plants on her list and instead, simply browsed and awed over the huge variety of flowers, shrubs and trees.

The fight with Ralon kept replaying in her head and Alanna knew it would have ended no differently. Ralon was older, stronger and had much more practice then her; plus he was a boy and had more upper body strength. She was ashamed of it, no matter how Alanna looked at it. Alanna kept a close eye on the time, and sadly left the greenhouses when it was time to return to class. The art room was only on the first floor and was easy enough to find, much to her relief. She sat down at a table at random and recognized no one here. Strange looks were directed her way, even though Alanna had gotten rid of the blood on her face and had straightened her clothes.

_It must be my damn black eye, _she thought.

The teacher entered and turned out to be a plump woman of about fifty, with grey bouncy curls. She gave off an air of someone who didn't put with nonsense and expected to be obeyed, but could be agreeable if you did what you were told. She introduced herself as Mrs. Faraski and proceeded to call roll. Alanna was confused as the teacher put away the roll call after finishing, but seemed to have missed her name.

"Excuse me, ma'am?" Alanna raised her hand. "But it seems you didn't call my name." Everyone in the class looked at her, and Alanna blushed, not liking all this attention, especially with her black eye.

"I'm sorry dear what was your name?" Mrs. Faraski asked her as she picked up the list and straightened the glasses on her nose.

"Trebond, Alan Trebond."

Mrs. Faraski scanned the list and sighed. "I'm sorry but it seems your name isn't here. Are you sure you're in the right class?" The class tittered and Alanna's face burned with embarrassment.

"I'm sure it says here on my schedule." Mrs. Faraski waved her over and Alanna showed her her schedule.

The art teacher nodded. "It seems you're right dear. There must be a computer error. I'll see to it after class." She smiled. "Just leave me your name and I'll take care of it." Alanna returned to her seat, looking at the ground below her feet to avoid eye contact with any of the other students. The rest of the period passed uneventfully while Alanna contemplated the horrible day this was turning out to be. She doodled on her notebook as the teacher went over the rules and expectations.

If she wanted to beat Ralon, she thought, she'd have to ask Coram to help her. Surely he knows a trick or two that might help me. Alanna sighed. It was horrible being so small, barely topping five feet. She had not expected this to happen to her after enrolling and deciding to parade around as a boy. It wasn't her fault she was born a girl. After art, she'd have to face Gary, who was in Yamani studies with her. The prospect of talking to him about the afternoon's events was not pleasant to her. She'd have to make up more excuses that Gary would see right through. The bell rang, ending her thoughts on the matter and Alanna trooped out of art, already hating it with a passion.

She had to use the bathroom and remembered seeing one near the art room. She found it and discovered happily it was empty. She ducked into one of the stalls and emerged from the bathroom feeling slightly more confident and ready to face Gary. Unfortunately, she found that her next class had no room number printed on it, and her map only went by room numbers. Alanna wanted to collapse and break down crying right then and there; this was too much to deal with in one day.

"Excuse me do you need any help, Master Trebond?" Alanna turned in the direction of the soft voice. It belonged to the small, brown-haired maid who had showed her in on her arrival day.

"Yes, maybe, if you know where the room for Yamani studies is," Alanna sniffled. The maid smiled and pulled out a handkerchief to give to Alanna. She thankfully took it and blew her nose.

"If you will follow me I will show you." The maid led her up the fifth floor, where class was already under way. The teacher looked at her unkindly as she walked in.

"Who are you and why are you late to my class?" He snapped.

"This is Alan Trebond sir," The maid answered for Alanna. "He is new here and is unaware of the layout of the school."

The teacher looked at Alanna with brown, slanted eyes, his black hair shiny and medium length, and coming down to his earlobes.

"Very well the, as it is the first week it is understood. Take your seat next to Mr. Naxen there and remember not to be late to my class in the future." Alanna mumbled a small thank-you and went to her seat. She suddenly realized the maid had left and Alanna had not a chance to thank her. She made a mental note to find out her name and thank her later.

The teacher was from the Yamani Islands and was named Mr. Yin. He gave them a small lecture of what was expected in his class and assigned a coloring sheet to them. The class was momentarily stunned, but then rejoiced at the prospect of a fun activity. The students broke off into groups and soon the room was filled with excited conversation. Gary moved Alanna over to a table for themselves, where they were joined by Douglass.

"Alan," Gary started but was cut off.

"I had a horrible, terrible day," Alanna snapped, her temper flaring. "I know what you're going to say, and you know what excuses I'm going to give you so I don't know why you're wasting your time." She then turned her attention to her coloring page.

Gary and Douglass exchanged looks and both knew that Alanna would not tell them of what exactly had occurred, although they both had a pretty good idea of what happened.

"On the other hand," Douglass changed the subject brightly. "Fencing team tryouts are starting soon." Alanna dropped her crayon.

"Really?" she asked. How desperately she wanted to join the team! "I thought try-outs weren't until the beginning of October." Alanna was looking forward to the extra month to practice her fencing skills. "When is it?"

"I heard from my father that it's next week on Friday." Gary answered. Alanna groaned and laid her head on the desk. So much for extra practice.

* * *

Alanna had no appetite that evening and no nerves left to face her friends. Gary and Douglass would probably tell them of her reluctance in Yamani Studies so she instead decided to find the infirmary and have her black-eye examined. Perhaps they had something to reduce the swelling and ease the pain. Alanna found a butler who gave her precise directions, asking if she'd rather have him show her the way. Alanna declined, wanting time alone to think. The infirmary turned out to be a beautiful, open room, with large cathedral windows and a high ceiling. The sun was streaming in through the west windows, which had been opened to allow the warm evening air in. The smell of lavender plants drifted in with the breeze as they had been planted underneath the windows outside.

"Hello?" Alanna called out, taking in more of the magnificent room. The infirmary had some artwork on the walls hanging above the white beds and the window sills were coated in silver.

"Hello!" a voice answered Alanna's call. A slender young woman emerged from the adjacent room, probably her office. The woman had long straight hair which had been dyed a light blue and shone like silk in the light. "What can I help you with?" she asked Alanna.

Alanna was taken aback by her hair. "Ummm, I have this black eye and I was wondering if you had anything to help with it?"

The nurse smiled. "Of course. Now why don't you sit down over there and I'll get something." Alanna seated herself on the armchair mentioned as the blue-haired nurse gracefully and silently glided into another room and came out with a small black jar.

"This is especially for black eyes," the nurse explained. She dabbed a bit onto Alanna's right eye and immediately the pain was eased. The cool ointment provided relief and the nurse held up a mirror for Alanna to observe the results.

"It's fast acting and was made of a rare plant combination." Indeed, Alanna noted the reduced swelling and the bright purples, yellows and greens had faded into a dark grey, still horrible looking but not as bright.

She smiled. "Thank you very much for your help."

The nurse nodded and replaced the lid on the jar. "It's my job, of course to heal. I'm very glad I could help you. I hope you have a pleasant evening and that I won't have to see you too often in the future."

Alanna left the blue-haired nurse in the glorious infirmary, thinking it was a fitting room for the nurse to be in. It was much too early to return to her room and Alanna felt trapped and suffocated in this large, strange school. She made up her mind to go to the greenhouses again, knowing that no one would look for her there.

Once there, she chose the one with all of the tropical plants. It was hot and humid inside and Alanna took off her tie and blazer, laying them on top of her schoolbag on a table with pots and shovels. Light filtered through the glass dome, shedding a green illumination as it fell onto the leaves and plants. Wildly exotic flowers bloomed brilliantly all over the greenhouse, bright spots of color against the large green fanning leaves of ferns and palm trees. Vines climbed up the trunks of the trees whose leaves tickled the top of the glass dome. A small artificial waterfall trickled somewhere nearby but Alanna could not find it. It was so peaceful and relaxing here, she thought as she sat down against the trunk of a tree. Here, alone, in the heat and humidity of this haven, Alanna let loose a small trickle of tears, having held them back over the course of this terrible day.

**Poor Alanna! Hopefully this stays true to all the characters' personalities. I'd very much like a review so I know if you like this or what or some ways to improve this?**


	6. Midnight Secrets

**Sorry I didn't update sooner; I just got caught up in so much school work. Kind of short, kind of not relating to the "Alanna" plotline. Also a stupid mistake on my part since I haven't looked at an SL book in a while: Jon's family name is Conte not Corte. I can't believe no one else caught that. I will go back and fix it later. Anyway, language and some alcohol usage. **

* * *

Alanna's phone vibrated loudly against her mahogany wooden nightstand. Whoever it was texting her better have a good reason to or she would punch the lights out of them, Alanna decided. Alanna's hand emerged from the confines of her comfy blanket and felt around for her phone. As it had turned out, Jon had texted her, practically demanding Alanna to meet him in the courtyard outside immediately. The sleepy-eyed girl glanced at her clock and with a groan noticed that its neon green numbers marked the time as 12 A.M. Yes, Alanna was going to punch Jon for sure. She drowsily put on her jeans and a large hoodie, glad that it covered her chest. She carefully opened her door and silently thanked the housekeeping staff who had oiled the door hinges so they wouldn't creak. She snuck down eerily silent hallways and slipped out the side door in the entrance hallway and made her way to the courtyard.

All of a sudden, a large hand came out of nowhere and clamped over her mouth, pulling her into the shadowy bushes. Alanna's first reaction was to punch out wildly and hope she hit something. With luck, she got her wish and her fist hit a certain someone.

"Ow! Holy crap that hurt!" Raoul cursed loudly.

"Shh! Shut up man!" Gary whispered.

"God's above, Alan," Jon let go of Alanna and she dropped lightly onto her feet. "Keep up like that and you could beat Ralon next time you two have a go at each other."

"We didn't fight," Alanna tried defending herself but Alex had slunk out of the shadowed doorway and interrupted her.

"Yes we know you fell. Now let's all shout and yell and alert the whole school, that's quite smart." His drawling voice shut everyone up.

"So, I bet you're all wondering why I gathered you here tonight," Jon whispered dramatically and rubbed his hands together. "I say, it's time for our annual back to school celebration."

"I am wondering why indeed," this sarcastic reply came from Gary. "Seeing as I was the one to suggest celebrating tonight."

"Why couldn't this have been scheduled at a normal time?" Alanna yawned.

"Because it's OUR back to school celebration," Raoul explained. "No school streamers, or fluffy balloons; this is our way of saying hello to the new school year."

Alanna stared at him, along with Douglass and Francis who were hiding in the shadows.

"I didn't know balloons were fluffy," Gary said dryly.

"Why don't we go to the spot before some warden finds us?" Jon suggested.

"Hey you!" Apparently the group had been spotted by a night warden.

"Shit, shit, shit!" Alex cursed. "Spilt up and meet up at the spot! Don't give out names if you're caught! Go!" Everyone hurriedly dispersed. Jon noticed Alanna's hesitation and grabbed her hand, pulling her along into the night.

* * *

They had been running over the dark grounds of the school. All the while Alanna had been thinking about how she had gotten into this mess. One minute she had been warm and asleep in her bed and the next she was racing across the school in the middle of the night. It was indeed an obscure night, as the moon was but a waning gibbous and shed minimal light. However, her hand was small in Jon's large, warm one, a comforting touch in the darkness.

"Where the hell are we?" Alanna gasped for breath.

"Not much further now," Jon replied, panting as well.

Alanna grumbled a few curse words she had picked up from Coram and continued to be pulled along by her dark-haired friend. They soon made it to a clearing somewhere in the forest. Without Jon, Alanna knew she would have never made it, never mind even guessing the "spot" would be in such a deep and secluded place. Jon collapsed on the soft bed of leaves littering the forest ground. Alanna had some self-control and sat down on a large rock protruding from the ground. This was excellent, she thought sarcastically. After Tuesday's fight with Ralon, Alanna made sure to stay out of the bully's way. She didn't want a repeat of what happened. Her eye was still noticeably black but had healed faster due to Mrs. Baird's healing cream. The rest of the week had dragged on, boring and dull. Thankfully she had switched out of art and into tactical warfare with Mr. Olau, a wise choice she decided. Changing in the locker room was still awkward for Alanna, as the rest of the boys now knew about her "self-conscious" tendencies but didn't question her. Nonetheless, she was wary and always made sure the door was locked. On weekends, the students at the school were allowed to leave to visit the city, only five miles away. Leaving school grounds required a signed form from your parents, but Thom had foraged their father's signature on the form. Alanna had taken the form sadly, knowing her father would never show much interest in his children's lives. Still, there were such advantages and this happened to be one; oddly it was the only advantage Alanna could think of.

Also she had become great friends with Gary and definitely Jon who was so helpful and nice to her that she wondered what he saw in her. Gary had remarked that Jon had never paid so much attention to a newcomer, but then again she was pretty sure other newcomers didn't have to hide their gender or have the heir to the Conte fortune come running into their rooms late at night. She was glad of the older boy's friendship and could not regret meeting them.

So there she was, sitting on a rock in a secluded clearing in the woods in the middle of the night, on a Friday night, or Saturday early morning. Alanna checked the time on her cell phone. Yes, it was definitely very, very early on a Saturday morning. She now thought of her foolish assumption from the night before, thinking that she could at least sleep in on the weekends. She looked over at Jon, who was idly gazing up at the dark treetops and the stars that shone in the sky. As crazy as the situation was, it was still very peaceful. Coram and Thom would fall over if they knew what she was doing now. Alanna groaned and put her head on her knees. Jon looked over and saw his red-haired friend in distress and got up to come to sit down next to her. He pulled out a small flashlight from somewhere and turned it on, illuminating the forest clearing they were sitting in.

"Don't worry Alan, they never check the woods," He assured her brightly.

"Don't they have tracking dogs?" Alanna asked.

Jon's face fell and he looked away sheepishly. "I'm pretty sure they only use those if there's an emergency, like someone getting kidnapped or murdered."

"That really makes me feel better, a WHOLE lot. Thanks Jon" Alanna said sarcastically. Time had been ticking away slowly and the others still had not come. "Where are Raoul and Gary with the others? Shouldn't they be here by now?"

Jon checked his glow-in-the-dark Rolex watch. "It's 12:45 am; yea they definitely should be here." He tapped his foot nervously against the ground. "Do you think they got caught? Or maybe thought it was a lost cause and went back to the dormitory?" Suddenly, Jon's phone went off.

"It's Raoul!" He exclaimed as he recognized the number. He answered his cell phone, almost breathless with relief. "Where are you?" Jon demanded. "Alan and I have been sitting here for almost an entire half hour! Are you ok?" Alanna sat perched on the end of the rock, her stomach fluttering with anticipation and trepidation. "Mithros above." The older boy sighed. "I'm glad to hear that. Did Alex make it back alright? No? Oh jeez I haven't heard from him, no, no, nothing from Francis or Douglass." Jon grinned. "Yes of course he's alright, just a bit shaken up." Jon smiled in Alanna's direction; she guessed that she was the one "shaken up". She sent a glowering look in his direction and amused herself with her hoodie strings.

"Yes, yes; let's just call it a night. We'll have to be more careful. Yeah, good-night Raoul, sorry I can't tuck you in tonight. Haha, you too, bye." Jon stretched his arms behind his head and yawned.

"So is everyone safe?" Alanna was ready to pounce on Jon for bringing her into this.

"Well Raoul and Gary are. I think Alex texted Raoul towards the end of the phone conversation."

Alanna's phone gave off a little beeping noise, announcing the arrival of a text. "Oh it's Francis! And he's with Douglass." She smiled in the darkness. "They ran into the greenhouse and hid in the bushes. Smart of them." She commented and put her phone back in her pocket while Jon pulled out a small bottle from his sweatshirt pocket. Alanna froze and said dangerously: "Jon, what is that?"

"Take a guess my good sir," Jon opened the bottle and took a drink. He closed his eyes and shook his head. "Wow," he coughed. "That's strong stuff." He held it out to Alanna who looked at it suspiciously. He practically pushed it in her face.

"Jon, I don't think this is a very good idea." Alanna sniffed the opening of the bottle which she now held while watching Jon stumble slightly as he sat down next to her again; the contents smelled oddly like lemons.

"A little sip won't hurt, trust me," Jon grinned, his handsome face suddenly ethereal and striking in the pale light of the flashlight. Right now, Alanna felt that she could trust him. Sighing, she tilted her head back and took a swing.

Cold and sharp the liquid burned and twisted its way down her throat, practically setting her stomach on fire. She coughed and stuttered. "What in blazes name is this?" The euphoria of the alcohol set in, strong and sedative as if time in her world had suddenly stopped.

Jon took another draught of it and shuddered. "It's something of my father's I think; vodka and absinthe. Not a smart combination now I think…" Jon's voice wondered off. Alanna couldn't help herself; it was as if something in her yearned for this soothing comfort, however much it burned her insides. Jon handed her the bottle and when she had her share she handed it back. Time was a senseless, meaningless idea, intangible as always. Alanna laid her head against Jon's shoulder, her neck no longer able to support her. She happily dozed as Jon's shoulder seemingly turned into the softest pillow she could imagine. Why had she been worried before? What was so wrong with just being so calm like this? Why couldn't she beat Ralon? It didn't matter now. Jon was so warm….

Oh what was that? Why was Jon pushing her back? Didn't he understand that she was comfortable where she was?

"I don't think I could ever tell you without this," Jon slurred. Alanna noticed a bit of nervousness in his voice. Maybe he should drink some more of that, she thought.

"I just don't know how this could have happened," he continued. Alanna sighed and put her head back on Jon's shoulder. This should happen more often if she could always feel this tranquil.

"You just make it harder every day and it just happened so fast," Of course; they had become such good friends in such a short time. That was amazing.

"Most people don't know this about me," Jon pushed her away so that they were face to face. Jon's eyes were half-closed, the stark light of the flashlight playing with his marvelous sapphire blue eyes, a deep ocean of secrets. Alanna tilted her head to one side and let out another small sigh. "I'd really like to know."

"I want to tell you but," Jon looked away and Alanna was distraught that she could no longer see Jon's azure eyes.

"Please tell me, I want to know now," Alanna said softly.

"I can't tell you exactly," Jon looked at her once more and leaned forward. Their lips met and suddenly he was kissing Alanna as if nothing else mattered.

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**Oh! Cliffhanger! Who wants to find out what's next? The more reviews I get the faster I'll get it up, and it'll be a longer chapter. Yes I know there are more than eleven people reading this story. And no don't worry this is not a crazy-party-everybody-get-wasted type of story. (I need a smart little sign off message….) Review and enjoy!**


	7. Cursed Romance

Jon kissed Alanna under the dark sky. Her mind was reeling; this was all so surreal. She had thought of the touch of his lips over the course of the few days she had come to know him, but this; this was different. His mouth tasted of the fiery alcohol; there had been no alcohol n her daydreams. His lips were warm against her; she had guessed as much.

I don't think this is so bad, she thought. After all, who wouldn't want to be in her position? She closed her eyes and felt Jon's strong arms wrap around her. Jon's muscular body could be felt through their sweatshirts, muscles shifting as their kiss deepened. Jon's hand was stroking her cheek and her own hands were tangled up in his ebony black hair. Her, she thought. Who did Jon think she was? A girl? A boy? No; this was obscene. This was not right. If Jon thought she was a boy…

"Agh!" She gasped, breaking away from Jon's embrace. Jon fell forward onto her, unable to stop himself. His head was in her lap and he caressed her legs. Through her alcohol induced haze, Alanna was infused with shock and violently jerked her leg so Jon might sit up.

"You're not being fair to me Alan," Jon said seductively.

"No this isn't right," Alanna managed to say.

"Alan," he whispered, staring into her violet eyes with his sapphire ones. So he thought her a boy. Alanna could not think straight. Her thoughts were coming to her in waves of incomprehensible confusion. She could not believe Jon. She couldn't understand why he liked Delia, and then her. Was he hiding it?

"Jonathan," Alanna lifted her hand to gently stroke the boy's high cheekbones. His skin was so smooth under her fingertips. Jon tilted his head so that his cheek rested in her hand. Alanna moved it away as if Jon had shocked her. She stood up too quickly, the blood rushing through her body in a heat wave and she felt so dizzy, like her legs couldn't support her.

"Please don't go," Jon begged. He caught Alanna as she fell to the ground. She grunted and tried to push Jon away, not having any strength left in her arms. She squirmed free and stood facing Jon, too close as there were only few inches separating them. She saw tears in Jon's eyes.

"Where would I go?" A good question as she couldn't walk more than a few paces. "Why did you kiss me?" Alanna pushed Jon away and saw that she had hurt him with that simple shove. She knelt on the soft leaves of the forest floor while Jon crouched down to be face to face to her. She shied away from Jon's caress as he once again attempted to kiss her.

"Don't tell," he tried pleading with her. "Whatever you do don't tell." Alanna wanted to promise him that, she wanted to tell him that she was a girl, she wanted to kiss him one more time. She wanted to tell him so many things….

* * *

The first thing Alanna noticed as she woke up was that her pillow was missing, as well as her giant comforter. The next thing she noticed was her pounding head; it felt as if she had been thrown in front of a truck. Her head was so heavy and she could hear her blood coursing through her veins. The slightest movement would cripple her and she had to lie there for an eternity before she could open her eyes without passing out or emptying her stomach. She slowly opened her eyes, no more than slits, to observe her surroundings. She was lying in her bed in her room with daylight peeking out from behind her window blinds. Oh gods above how late was it? A snore alerted her of someone's presence in her room and she lifted her head to look down on the floor.

On one hand, she found her missing pillow and comforter. On other hand, it was Jon who had decided to wrap himself in her blanket and steal her pillow. So last night really had happened. She had hoped it had been a dream. What had happened? Had Jon carried her back up to her room? She couldn't remember anything besides drinking that terrible liquor and Jon kissing her. What had happened next? Did they have…? No, otherwise Jon would be next to her in bed, her secret surely revealed by the absence of clothes. Where would they go from here? Would she have to expose herself to him? Alanna quietly decided to take a shower and try to calm down. She sat up, slowly. Her head throbbed in protest but she ignored it and stood up. Not a good idea. Alanna got on all fours and crawled to the bathroom and into the shower.

The hot water helped her to somewhat wake up and clear her mind. As much as she hated to admit it, Jon very well could be gay. She didn't have a problem with it. But her heart fell quickly. If he was gay then he would have no interest in her if she told him the truth. Would she lie to him to try to have a relationship? It wouldn't be fair. It wouldn't be fair to her either. Only a week had passed and she wondered why Jon had become so attracted to her so fast. She had been sure they were good friends. But now she looked back and realized she had formed a small crush on Jon, knowing that they might never be able to be together and she accepted it reluctantly. Did Jon ever move that fast with others? She couldn't decide if the thought of Jon being with other boys or girls was worse. She groaned again. As she had expected her morning shower was calming and soothing, the time spent under the water had practically turned the bathroom into a small sauna. The water cascading on the shower tiles masked the sound of the bathroom door opening, followed by heavy footsteps and the closing of the door behind them.

"Alan?" Jon's voice was heavy with sleep and evident of a terrible hangover. Alanna's hands froze as she was washing her hair. Nothing more than a shower curtain separated them now.

"I'm so sorry. Please I just want to talk." His tone made it evident that he was pleading with her and he would do anything to talk to her, to make her understand.

"Jon," she stuttered. "Please get out."

"No, I have to tell you." He obviously was not getting the point. "Hear me out that's all. I promise."

"I can't face it now," Alanna turned the water down to a slight trickle and leaned against the cool shower wall.

"When do you want to talk about it?" Alanna heard Jon put down the toilet seat and him sitting down upon it.

"Do we need to talk about it?" How desperately she wished that she didn't have this horrendous hangover. It would be easier to think without it. "We just got carried away."

"I know I didn't," Jon answered in his sluggish voice. A silence followed. Alanna could not decide if now would be an appropriate time to yell at him, cry in his arms or tell him that she was really a girl.

"What do you mean?" Alanna couldn't help the quickening pace of her heart. She closed her eyes and put her forehead against the wet tiles.

"I don't know how to put this, but I'm going to say it as best as I can," Jon cleared his throat. "It can't be helped: I have feelings for you, Alan."

Alanna stiffened. She had guessed as much, but hearing him say it aloud was something completely different. "What?" she croaked out.

"I kissed you last night because I wanted to," Jon drew a deep breath and went on. "I've never met someone like you and I've never fallen for someone so fast. It's not love if that's what you're afraid of."

Alanna heard Jon come over to the shower, saw his shadow right outside her shower curtain. Jon's hand reached into behind the curtain, somehow violating this space of hers, this place of calm that was somehow taboo of him to enter. He felt around until he had Alanna's smaller hand in his own. This linking of hands seemed to take her problem to new heights, as now she knew Jon would be intent trying to woo her.

"When I met you, I thought you were incredibly brave for standing up to Ralon, nobody ever stands up to him here." Jon began. Alanna felt her throat tighten and felt the tears form in her eyes. She had not seen this coming, did not think she would have to live this lie. "I began to like you already that day I think. You are very good-looking. You got along very well with everyone and you can make people laugh. I know that you love fencing and I so want to help you, since every minute I spend with you I seem to get to know you better." Alanna shuddered slightly, hoping Jon did not notice. "You know how to be independent and you are your own person. I like how you speak your mind even if you are pert at times it adds to your own personality that I know I'd never find in anyone else. You have a temper but it looks good when you get angry." Small warm tears rolled down her cheeks. "It short, it didn't take very long for me to become attracted to you. And last night was the first time that I felt like I could tell someone how I feel. And maybe this is new to you, but I'll wait as long it takes for you to get used to this, this feeling between us." When Alanna didn't say anything, Jon began to open the shower curtain.

"No don't!" Alanna said this rather too quickly and whipped her hand away from Jon. Somehow she knew Jon would be crestfallen. "I just need time," Alanna offered. Yes time to find a solution to this mess. "I've never even had a girlfriend, never mind a boyfriend." True; no boy had been interested in her. "Can we, just take things slowly?" Or non-existent would be good too. "I wouldn't want other people to find out about this." Especially not Coram, who'd have the boy's hide in mere seconds.

"Does it have to be slowly?" Jon asked, hope creeping into his voice.

"Didn't you just listen to what I said?" Alanna snapped back.

"Alan," Jon said softly. "I think we could honestly start a good relationship. Please say you'll give it a shot?"

Alanna hugged her arms, now standing in her shower with fear, naked and cold. "I want to talk about it later Jon." She said firmly. "I want to talk about this when I'm dressed."

On the other side, Jon blushed. "Oh yes of course." He handed Alanna her towel and had it snatched from his grasp.

"I'll see you at breakfast." Alanna said grimly. Jon knew he had been dismissed. At the bathroom door he paused to look back. A pair of purple eyes looked out at him from behind a shower curtain. "Aren't you going to leave?" Her tone was harsh and severe. Jon murmured an apology and exited her bathroom. He was about to leave Alanna's room when something hanging out from her dresser caught his eye. He listened closely to Alanna's movements in the bathroom and decided the coast was clear. To his surprise it was a strap of a bra. A small one, but a bra nonetheless. Was Alan a cross dresser? He held it in his hands feeling the cloth and noting the simple swirling design on it. The thought of Alan wearing it, the thought of Alan wearing only this; this twisted image flashed before his eyes and he couldn't remember feeling like this for anyone.

"Jonathon Conte, are you still in here?" Alanna screamed from behind the closed door.

Jon jumped in shock and shoved the bra back in the dresser, suddenly feeling very perverted and ashamed for thinking such things. "Just leaving," he shouted and hurried out, questions popping up in his mind faster than he could comprehend. He closed Alan's door behind him and leaned against the hallway wall. It was midday already, he and Alan sleeping off the alcohol from the night before that had started this mess. Being away from Alan now let him think more clearly. It was true what he had said to Alan. He had never fallen for someone that fast before. There was a mysterious air about the red-haired, violet-eyed boy. His beautiful purple eyes were alike any he had seen before and probably unlike those that he would ever see again. What Alan lacked in stature he made up in charisma and temper. Jon smiled and remembered when he had come down to lunch on Tuesday with a black eye. How desperately had Jon wanted to beat Raoul for what he did to Alan. And he still very much wanted to do so.

The ebony-haired boy sighed and ran a hand through his hair; he was still not recovered from the hangover that he was suffering through. He began to make his way back to his dorm room, hoping his roommate would not be there. When he got to his room he found that Duke Gareth and other school staff were there, moving out his roommate's belongings. The boy in question was being guarded by two security guards. Jon gave them an odd look and went to his uncle to ask what had happened.

"While Thomas may be highly valued as a computer engineer," the headmaster said. "His actions have proven that a single room would be best for him."

"What did Thomas do?" Jon inquired. His voice was slower and flatter than usual, his clothes crumpled and his hair askew; he hoped his uncle would not notice that he had been drinking the night before.

"What he did is best kept to myself," Duke Gareth said, casting a quizzical and scrutining look at Jon's rumpled attire. "For the time being, I think it would be best if you shared a room with someone else. There's no other choice; we'll have to pull out someone from a single room and have them move here for the rest of the year. All the other rooms are filled." He said this more to the secretary standing next to him than to his nephew in front of him. Jon's heart began pounding a little faster. Surely the gods were now tempting and toying with him?

Duke Gareth nodded the secretary and turned back to Jon. "I noticed that you became very good friends with Mr. Trebond over the last week. You'll be rooming with him. I trust you have no objections?"

Jon's heart seemed into leapt into overdrive. He didn't know if this was a blessing or curse.

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**Alright I wanted to put this up yesterday but I also wanted to edit this. It didn't flow too well before**. **The bit at the top was meant to be kind of choppy if you're wondering.** **I think there needs to be more Jon/Alan FanFics. So review! And check out my other "Alanna" story, it's a bigger hit then I thought it'd be. And review that too! Leave me nice comments and I'll post a longer chapter.**

**-black-venom-heart**


	8. Quick Side Note

**Hello there a quick author's note from black-venom-heart, beloved author of _Twisted Choices._ Anyways, I got a lovely review from Furry McKrill who asked if I would care to change the rating of this story to M. I'm leaning towards that option. Now, I know that perhaps some people may not like reading that rating but to fully explore and have fun with this I'm asking your opinion:**

**Should I go ahead with the M rating and delve deeper in the whole relationship issue and easily speak of more mature things? Or just stick with T? If yes for M I'd like to say that I wouldn't write fluff scenes all the time, just saying it'd be fun to write a more mature story and I'd be more dedicated to contining this.**

**So if I get seven nice reviews I'll post up the next chapter tomorrow, with or without a new rating. **

**(And sorry for those looking forward to a new chapter tonight. Don't kill me for an author's note i'll take it down tomorrow)**


	9. Cities and Confusion

**Please don't kill me! I said I'd update yesterday and I'm thankful for all your lovely reviews; they made my day. However I got caught up in all my AP homework and that comes first. So here you go, a nice long chapter (4,654 words!). Hey Furry McKrill I see you've found your way to this SL story of mine. Sweet stuff. You should get an account : **

**Oh and yes, this is officially an M rated story.**

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Alanna stormed through the hallways, not believing the words of the butler. She was to share a room with Jon! It was entirely implausible that something like this could even happen. She quickly pondered over how soon Jon would find out. There too many occasions that Alanna would have to hide, everything from laundry to showering now had to be kept secret. Then there was the matter of Jon's feelings for her – she knew that Jon was gay, or bi at the very least. Alanna hated admitting this to herself but she knew she had developed a small crush on the Conte boy. Now she had no idea what to make of those feelings but neither could she bring herself to talk about it with Jon.

Obviously the gods were meddling in her life. Once she had cooled her head considerably she went to her new room and found Jon cleaning out a spot for her in the wardrobe.

"Alan," he started. Alanna flipped him the finger and went to sit on her bed. Jon followed suit and both sat through a painful silence.

They now sat on the edge of their respective beds, both looking at each other and not saying a word. Jon was nervously tiddling his thumbs trying to avoid Alanna's death glare that had been directed his way for the past ten minutes. He felt as if he should say something, anything, but he was at a loss for words. Alanna crossed her legs and turned to gaze out the window admiring the way the afternoon sun reflected against the glass and how it spread rainbows across Jon's bedspread. Finally, Jon felt that he could no longer stand this heavy silence.

"Please say something Alan," he said in the same begging tone he had used when he had been addressing her in the shower. "We're going to be living in the same room for a while. Please let's try to even things out at least?"

Alanna now was looking at the blue carpet; it had her full attention and she couldn't remember the last time the carpet had been this interesting. She tore her eyes away from the carpet and looked into Jon's sapphire eyes, bright blue in the sunlight.

"How can we even things out?" She whispered.

"Why are you so against our kiss?" Jon asked breathlessly as if he had been waiting forever to ask her. "Or are you entirely against two boys having a relationship?"

Alanna bit her lower lip and turned away. Jon sucked in his breath waiting with anticipation for her answer. Finally he might find out the true reason; he could feel it.

"I'm not against two boys having a relationship," She answered. Jon's heart beat faster, if that was possible. Alanna knew it was now or never. She would have to tell Jonathon Conte the truth.

"I wasn't against it," she began. "It's because I….."

* * *

Raoul had a strong arm around Gary's neck, grappling him in a playful headlock.

"Oh come on Raoul, this is ridiculous," Gary managed to cough out. "She texted me! I didn't do anything!"

"Yeah but I got her number first!" Raoul shouted. He then released his large friend and sat down, his head propped up on his hand in defeat. He couldn't believe the nerve of Gary! Raoul had gotten hold of Delia's number and here was Gary, flirting with her as if tomorrow never existed. He would have to talk about it with Delia later. He was biting into his steak when he spotted a boy sporting a familiar shock of red hair. He carried a tray to where Raoul was sitting.

"Hey," Alan said. Raoul waved his fork in greeting. Alan had dark circles under his eyes and looked as if he had barely slept at all last night.

"Where were you and Jon last night?" Raoul asked her.

Alanna paused briefly; did Raoul know? "We made it to the spot and Jon and I had some of his wicked devil drink." She murmured. Gary overheard this and chuckled along with Raoul.

"Eh, Jon is corrupting the youth of the school," Gary sighed and turned back to his macaroni and cheese.

"Word of advice," Raoul offered. "Don't ever drink anything Jon gives. You'll probably have three possible things happen to you."

"One: you won't remember anything that happened to you the night before." Alex said. He had just sat down next to Alanna and heard Raoul's last comment.

"Two: you'll probably wake up to someone that you most definitely did not want to wake up next to." Gary said. The table gave him weird looks. "What? That's how I lost my virginity." He shrugged.

"And finally three: you'll have the worst hang over in the history of hangovers." Raoul concluded. Alanna stared gloomily into her cup of coffee; all of those had happened to her, minus Jon next to her but he had slept on her floor so perhaps it did count.

"I'll definitely be following that advice next time." If there even is a next time; she thought bitterly of the freedom she would have if she had attended the all girl's school. She might have had to wear a skirt but at least she wouldn't have to hide it.

"Well then, since it's already one o'clock, why don't we go ahead and leave for the city already?" Alex suggested.

"What Corus? Really?" Alanna asked with as wide eyes as she could manage that morning.

"Of course," Douglass said. He drained his orange juice and wiped his mouth with his sleeve. "You wouldn't expect us to sit around at school the entire weekend would you?" No she hadn't, but with this morning's chaotic events she hadn't even given a fleeting thought to a trip to the city.

"Alright then it's settled: we're leaving for the city in fifteen minutes." Raoul said and stood, swiping a few pieces of fruit and bread into a napkin for later. "Oh Alan I heard you're to share a room with Jon for the rest for this year. Do you think you could go get him?"

"No need," Jon's clear deep voice carried easily as he arrived. He gave her a bright smile, happy that Alanna had told him what he thought was the truth. Alanna's heart sunk. What she had told Jon was a complete lie and nowhere near the truth. She said that she had once been in a terrible relationship just a few months before and was having trouble moving on. Jon had accepted her explanation as a reason for her reluctance to enter any sort of relationship with anyone else.

"Great we can leave immediately." Alex said brightly.

"What?" Jon asked incredulous. "I haven't even eaten breakfast!"

"Then you shouldn't drag freshmen into the forest in the middle of the night and get completely wasted and sleep away half the day the next morning." Alex retorted. "You can eat in Corus; now let's go!"

There was much argument over who should drive and what car they should take. Gary eventually settled it by asking a school chauffeur to drive them in one of his father's limos. Alanna sat back against the dark leather of the luxury vehicle and happened to be seated in between a very talkative Gary who was still arguing violently with Raoul over who should date Delia, and on the other side of her sat Jon, happy to be there next to her. Alanna rolled her eyes and wished for the umpteenth time that she did not have this gods-cursed headache. She mostly ignored Jon's attempts at conversation and busied herself with texting Thom, who was engrossed in designing a new building for the senate, or something along those lines. A text from Coram once again asked if she could pick up any alcohol in the city. Alanna shuddered at the thought of what mess alcohol caused and couldn't understand why people enjoyed it so much. The drive to Corus was perhaps ten miles from the school but was lengthened by the many twisting and turning roads they took. When they reached the outskirts of the city, Alanna pushed Jon out of the way so that she might catch a better glimpse from the window.

She sight took her breath away. The whole city seemed to be a jungle and maze of shimmering glass and steel, tall skyscrapers piercing the blue sky. Bridges connected buildings to another and gigantic columns supported an entire causeway bridge above the ground level of the street. Alanna looked upon the urban wilderness taking in giant art sculptures, spewing fountains and multitudes of people. The people were as varied as you could ever possibly see. Gary noticed Alanna's astonished look and laughed.

"I guess you've never seen Corus before?" he asked as they crossed the wire suspension bridge over the churning waters of the river that separated Corus into two sides. "Wait until we cross the bridge; we just drove through the lower city and it's nothing compared to Northern Corus." Gary was true to his word and the other side was even more spectacular. Alanna also noticed that this was where the majority of the temples of the gods were. The chauffeur dropped off the boys and Alanna in front of a glass fronted shopping mall. The day was warm and Alanna wished she could wear only her T-shirt. She had settled for her favorite Metallica T-shirt and a blue vest to go over it, hiding her chest. She thought that it was odd to see her friends in clothes other than their uniforms. She wasn't surprised by Alex's skinny jeans and emo band shirt as he had vehemently complained of the school's uninspiring dress code. Raoul was dressed in a striped rugby polo and board shorts, Gary dressed similarily only with a logo shirt. Jon had chosen a Guns 'n' Roses concert shirt and skinny jeans while Francis and Douglass had opted for simple logo T-shirts and cargo pants. Although Alanna hated to admit it, Jon could really pull off his skinny jeans.

"So what should we do first?" Raoul asked. There was a moment of silence and then the group each yelled out their individual wants and argued over where they should go. Douglass yelled at them to shut the hell up and order was restored.

Jon checked his watch and then straightened his top which accented his muscles nicely thought Alanna with bitterness. "How about we spilt up and meet back here in about three hours? That gives everyone enough time to do what they want." He glanced in Alanna's direction for a second and she was a bit scared to be alone in this big city with him.

"Sounds fair enough," Alex agreed. He went off with Francis, Raoul and Douglass while Alanna dragged a surprised Gary along, with Jon hurrying after them.

**Thirty minutes later…**

"Don't be ridiculous Gary. You can't lose someone. He just wandered away."

"Yeah probably because of the evil way you keep looking at him." Alanna hit Gary with her shopping bag and muttered something about an imbecile.

"What is that?" Gary asked brightly, cupping an ear. "Do I hear a lovely compliment of my amazing personality?"

"Never mind," Alanna grumbled. They had been walking in circles around the mall for the past ten minutes after noticing they had lost sight of Jon. One second he had been simply standing next to them and the next second he was gone. Gary had immediately started ranting on about conspiracies to kill the head of the Conte family but Alanna was glad to have Jon out of her sight. He was old enough to look after himself so she wasn't particularly worried. What she was worried about was the young man looking at her curiously whilst leaning casually in the doorway of a music store. He was tall, slim but toned, had short cut light brown hair and was wearing a faded Daft Punk shirt and ripped jeans. His hazel eyes twinkled impishly while a small mischievous smile played along his lips. Overall he didn't look like much of a threat but you couldn't tell with these city folk. Alanna held his gaze for a few moments and then turned to Gary. He was engrossed in his cell phone so the red-haired girl took hold of the boy's sleeve and dragged him into a random store as she still watched the young man with hazel eyes stare at her. She had hardly noticed where she was going and ended up walking straight into another women. Alanna fell and dropped her shopping bags while the surprised woman fell on top of Gary.

The woman had beach blonde hair and an enticing curvaceous figure. Gary stuttered out an apology as the beautiful blonde picked herself up and walked haughtily and hurriedly away.

"Ye need help there lad?" A pleasant baritone voice sounded. Alanna looked up to stare directly into the eyes of the stranger with the impish eyes. He stretched out a hand to her and helped her up. Up close, she could see that he was good-looking enough, his nose perhaps a tad big for his face. He was taller than she had guessed, the top of her head coming up only to the middle fo his chest.

"Thanks," She said softly. The stranger admired her briefly before Gary coughed, still on the ground.

"Up ye go then!" And the hazel-eyed stranger helped Gary up. "Nice to meet yer, me name's George Cooper." Alanna and George introduced themselves, George perking up when he heard Naxen.

"Are city people always this nice?" Gary asked playfully.

"Only the handsome ones." George answered, winking at Alanna. She blushed for unknown reasons and momentarily thought she was becoming a magnet for bisexual and gay men lately.

"You boys from that fancy Conte school?" Gary and Alanna answered affirmatively. "Haha this be no place to enjoy the fine sights of the city," George said and gestured around the brightly lit mall with the glass dome. "If ye be willin' to come to the other side o'Corus I'd show you a sweeter and more honest side of Corus."

"Of course, we'd love to go." Alanna said quickly. She had taken a liking to George Cooper already, admiring the aura of honesty of him, even though she had thought him unnerving the moment before. She had also spotted Jon in the distance who, from the quickening of his pace, seemingly had spotted them as well.

"Well what're we waitn' for." George smiled and led them out of the mall and to the metro station, talking nonstop the entire time. He pointed out various people and sights on the way and talked during the whole ride. Gary was able to keep up with him and their chatter gave way to a lively conversation. Alanna laughed and nodded in the right places and ignored the angry texts that Jon was sending her. She just wanted this day away from him to collect herself so that she wouldn't shoot him on sight that night. They stopped at a metro station of the other side of the river, the train having gone through a tunnel that was located on the riverbed. The "Lower City" as it was called, was a more colorful place than the richer side. George led them to a club called the "Dancing Dove" and gave a small nod to the bouncer at the door. The bouncer stared at Alanna as she walked up the steps and into the dark interior of the nightclub as if sizing her up. The "Dancing Dove" was more than a nightclub, as she soon realized; it was a gathering place of the inhabitants of the secret underworld of society.

She saw gang members with the insignia of a dove in flight, relating to the "Dancing Dove"; there were Skin Heads with clean shaven heads who were smoking heavily from a tribal pipe; the Technos were there in the corner with their advanced phones and laptops, god knows what new product they were designing; Joko girls, who always dressed in black leather and were trained in various forms of fighting and were the secret, unofficial police force at night of the Lower City, were sitting at another table; then there were your regular burly biker men, artists, authors, bounty hunters and every possible social outlet of people scattered throughout the club.

Alanna's eyes grew wide again when she passed a girl with tattoos over every visible part of her body and a snake affectionately wrapped around her body. The snake girl smiled with her tongue sticking out, revealing a pierced tongue. Alanna hurried to catch up to George and Gary who were ordering drinks at the bar counter.

"What'll it be purple-eyes?" George asked Alanna. "Whiskey, wine, cocktail?"

Remembering the night before, Alanna shuddered in disgust. "Lemonade will be fine." George laughed, a pleasant sound to Alanna's ears. They settled down in bar chairs and observed the various people that walked past. They all seemed to give a respectable nod to George. Gary noticed the oddity and brought it up.

"Well now lad," George grinned and took a sip of his beer. "What da ye know of the underworld?"

"Nothing much," Gary admitted. "All I know is that they're usually led by one man who calls himself the Rouge..." A lightbulb went of in Gary's head as George's knowing smile spread wider across his face.

"No," Alanna gasped, now understanding the situation. George couldn't be! The Rouge himself sitting so casually in front of them was mind-boggling. "You look too young to possibly be the Rouge."

George threw back his head and laughed hard, looking even more handsome. "That's a bit funny coming from such a wee lad like yerself." He sat there and wiped his eyes while Alanna scowled and drank her lemonade.

"How did you manage to become Rouge?" Gary asked.

George lowered his eyes and said in a serious tone. "How do ye think we gets rid of people that we don't like about here?" He shifted in his seat and Alanna could see the handle of a small gun tucked in the Rouge's pants.

"You killed the last Rouge?" Gary whispered.

"Killin' be a harsh word to use, Master Naxen." said the barkeeper. His deeply lined face broke into a smile at the Conte student's astonishemnt. "We'd rather be callin' it 'disposin'' more than anythin'. And yeas, I be a'knowin' yer name, I know yer face from them newspictures they're always a'printin'. Yer and yer father always be in there some time or another." He waved to them and went on to serve his next customers.

"Don't be worryin' about old Solomon," George assured them both. "He's my trusted man there and it'll take quite a beatin' to get anything from him, though I hope it might never come to that."

"So what did you do before you became the Rouge of Thieves?" Gary asked, now curious about this young man.

"Well first off, I used ta' attend a high school hereabouts but dropped out when I was sixteen. Figured I'd learned enough to keep myself alive. I used to deal crack and drugs there so I's continued for a whiles. It was too messy, too dange'ous I realized ta keep doin' that for a livin' so I got a job here at the Dancin' Dove and the rest is history." George winked at Gary. "I guess ye could say I discovered a talent!" He chuckled as he drained the last of his beer, leaving white foam at the bottom of his glass.

"Why'd you decide you wanted to become the Rouge?" Alanna chirpped in.

"It t'was time for a change laddie," George said philosopicly. "By the way, how old are ye now?"

"Me?" asked Alanna incredulously. "I'm fourteen, going on fifteen this December."

"No bloody way mate. And here I was a'thinkin' you were thirteen at the very most!" Alanna wished she knew George long enough to punch but settled with an angry sat in short silence when Alanna's phone rang. She saw the caller ID and recognized it as Raoul's.

"Hey Raoul," She answered. "No, I'm with Gary, umm where are we? Well we're in an, an, an old record shop on the other side of Corus. Opps, lost Jon? I thought he just wandered off, no tell him I'm going to be doing the punching, yes we will be there in twenty minutes. Ok, bye." She flipped her phone shut and turned to Gary.

"Raoul and the others want to meet up at school. Apparently there's some kind of emergency going on and they need us back as soon as possible."

George sighed. "And here I was meetin' two great lads and then ye be havin' to go. Here take my number and I'll show ye back to the metro." Gary and Alanna were escorted by the Rouge to the station where they said good-bye to their new friend.

"Well that was an interesting day," Gary remarked. The train began moving and Alanna waved at George as they left the station.

"He was nice though but awfully mysterious," Alanna commented.

"Yes that's true but it would be nice to have friends in the city." Gary thought aloud. They soon were reunited with their friends, carrying out their presumed lie of having gone to an old record shop. The weary boys and Alanna piled into the limo and Douglass and Alex fell asleep while the rest sat sleepily in their seats. Jon looked at Alanna. She knew she would have a long conversation once they got back to the school.

* * *

The emergency, ironically enough, was that Duke Naxen had found out about the friends' midnight excursion but did not know who it was. All he knew, from what he had found out from the night warden, was that a group of boys had met outside in the courtwood and had run away when the warden approached them. They also later found an empty bottle which they guessed had previously contained alcohol since there were a few drops inside. The headmaster had called this "a disgrace to the honor and dignity of the school, a perversion of youth and a corruptive substance". Alanna had been frightened when they all assembled in the meeting hall and had nervously clutched her hands in her lap. Duke Naxen warned the students that they would be expelled if found as it was against school policy and law for alcohol consumption for minors. Jon had been as frightened as she was and told her not to worry as they couldn't track it to them; whether Jon said it to reassure Alanna or himself was unclear but did nothing to relieve the nervous air between the group of friends.

The first thing Alanna did when they got to their room that night was to punch Jon squarely in his handsome face - twice.

"OW!" Jon yelled. "What the fuck? Seriously what gives Alan?"

"Don't you play coy with me Jonathon!" Alanna screamed. "First you drag me out into the middle of the night, then I get wasted and you kiss me and the next thing I know I'm awake in my bed with no recollection of the night before except you kissing me!" she didn't stop there and kept going. "And now I might be expelled if we get caught! Thanks alot! I don't have a father who's going to care enough to put me into another school! I don't have a father who has enough influence to keep me here! I don't have anything but my brother and this! And you and Ralon are messing this up for me! That's what gives!" Alanna, who had vented out the rage and anger that had built up in her over the day, sat down heavily on her unmade bed, tears now streaming down her face. A tender look came over Jon and he came to sit down next to her. He hesitantly put his arm around her shoulders, afraid of her reaction. Alanna sobbed even harder and Jon drew her to his chest.

"Shh please don't cry now. I'll promise if they trace it to me I won't mention your name. You're right, I pulled you into this mess. And yes I don't think kissing you was a very good idea under the circumstances.I'm so sorry that I've caused all this pain for you. But I care for you Alan, that's what I don't think you're understanding. I want you to be happy and I will look out for you no matter what so why can't you let me do that at least? If you don't want a relationship that's fine but can we please work things out to be friends? That's all." Jon's voice was extrememly soft and comforting and Alanna noticed she had gotten Jon's shirt front very wet.

"Oh Jon," she sighed and looked up at his face. His beautiful eyes were sad and lonely, mirroring her own. Jon pressed a fingertip to her lips for her to hush and dropped his hand. He leaned in to kiss Alanna. She didn't stop him, or hesitate. She wanted this kiss, though not under these circumstances. They broke the kiss and Jon caressed Alanna's cheek.

"Alan," he whispered with a lover's delight. He covered her lips with his own and kissed her again more passionately then before. Alanna felt a thrill course through her body, something she had never felt before. She closed her eyes and kissed Jon back, lips moving under his. Jon parted her lips with his tongue and entered her mouth, taking in the feeling and running it over Alanna's tongue. Distantly, as the kiss deepend further, she felt Jon's warm hand moving up her leg.

She leaned backwards suddenly, breathing heavily. Jon opened his eyes and it took him a few seconds to regain his breath and take in what just happened.

"I didn't mean for that to happen," he breathed out. Alanna moved Jon's hand from her leg.

"Sorry," he said as he pulled back.

"I think it's time for bed," Alanna suggested. The clock on the nightstand read 9:01 pm, too early for bed but neither of them wanted to argue about it.

Later, after undressing with the door locked in the bathroom, Alanna snuggled into bed with her cozy blankets around her. She still was confused but felt she could manage. She felt like a horrible liar but it didn't matter now, oddly. Maybe Jon would understand, maybe one day...

* * *

**Ugh so tired and it's so late...sort of. It's only 9:56 pm right now but I wanted to write this cause I always try to keep my promises. I'll end here cause I need some sleep. I'm going to stop saying when I'll update next so I won't disappoint you. Sorry for any bad spelling and/or grammer I did my best when I went back and edited it over. Hope you all review! (please review o.O)**


	10. Roommate Terror

Alanna peaked out from beneath her covers to check if the coast was clear and then hurriedly, but quietly, padded to the bathroom and locked the door shut. There was no point in tiptoeing as Jonathon was a heavy sleeper and it would take a cannon blast to wake him. Noiselessly, she closed the bathroom door and turned on the shower and let it rinse off the night's sleepy grime. Alanna had survived the weekend, much to her surprise as she thought that on the first morning Jon would surely have found out about her secret. She found that sharing a room with Jonathon had one good perk: he respected her need for modesty and privacy. Although she had to lie as to her reason for privacy she could have it worse by sharing a room with another, but she wasn't sure if she would rather share a room with a total stranger or a newly found gay Jon.

Still, she felt that she could focus on her fencing try-outs this coming Friday now that her worst fears were put to rest. And she had managed to finish all of her homework for her numerous teachers that decided the weekend was not an excuse to slack off. Didn't the teachers do anything fun over the weekend? Now that she was thinking about it, she wondered if the teachers lived in Corus or if they roomed in Conte d'Royale. She would ask Mr. Olau later as she was getting along fabulously with him. Alanna ran a brush through her coppery red hair and left the bathroom, dressed and feeling refreshed. Jon had just awakened looking rather cute with disheveled bed hair and wearing nothing but green boxers.

"Morning," he grunted when he saw her.

"Good morning, if you hurry the bathroom is still warm." Alanna advised her roommate. Jon grunted and entered the bathroom. Some few minutes later the sound of cascading water could be heard. As it was still too early for Alanna to meet up with her other friends, she checked packed her schoolbag and made sure to shove her "feminine" clothing deep into her drawers so that Jon wouldn't find it. IT would be disastrous if such a thing would ever happen! That being done, she checked her phone and saw that she had received a text from George. George's message turned out to be a drunken text and Alanna vaguely thought that it was unwise for the Rogue to behave that way knowing that a false move in the Underworld would end badly for him. The text was completely and utterly obscene, asking her to perform some very dirty acts. First Jon and now George! She was quickly becoming a magnet for gay men, she confessed to herself. George did not come off as gay when they had first met but she knew that first impressions led to false characterizations. Thank Mithros this was only a drunk text otherwise the whole situation would have been uncomfortably awkward even though it was already. She would have to have a talk with George later. As she was debating whether or not to reply, Jon came out of the bathroom.

"Ready to go?" Alanna asked.

"Absolutely, I could eat a horse." Jon grinned. Before they left, he lifted her chin with a careful finger and planted a small kiss on her cheek.

Jon found Alanna's expression amusing as she turned a bright red.

"It is extremely pleasing to the eye to behold such a marvelous sight," Jon teased.

"Yes the black eye I will bestow upon you shall be all to pleasing to mine eyes if you don't watch yourself." Alanna scowled. Jon only laughed in reply and gestured her out the door. They caught up with Gary and Raoul, the latter looking much livelier his morning than he had last week.

"Has everyone had a restful night?" Gary asked, swinging his hands idly together as they descended staircase after staircase to the dining hall. Jon blushed and looked away. He had slept, but he wouldn't exactly call it restful. His dreams had been full of Alan, although he could not quite recall the exact details. He had woken up to find his boxers wet and his member hard and throbbing. It was all he could o not to grab Alan that morning when Jon heard him enter the bathroom. He hoped Alan would make up his mind soon as to whether or not he wanted a relationship. Jon was not used to waiting on people. It was always the other way around. He would have girls waiting to smile at him, to kiss him, to sneak off with him into dark hallways and rooms to perform sexual acts and favors. Jon did like girls very much, but now with Alan around there was a feeling of excitement greater than he had felt with any girl he had been with. It was taboo of course, for two men to be together. In an aristocratic society, such unions were more than frowned upon. If you did not comply with the standards that had stood for generations, you would be disowned.

Jon shook his head in answer to Gary's question. Why had he started thinking of aristocratic standards?

Raoul saw Jon's blush and Alan look sheepishly down at his nails. He cocked an eyebrow in question. He dismissed at once. They probably had gotten ahold of alcohol again. So Jon had lured another freshman to the dark side. This was going to be an interesting year.

* * *

"Oh shut up Jon, you're giving me a headache!" Alanna snapped as they sat in class.

"I can give you something more, pleasurable, tonight" Jon whispered in her ear suggestively so that no one else could hear. Alanna squeaked and blushed bright red again. She grabbed her textbook and started beating Jon with it.

Gary and Raoul looked on, finding the scene highly entertaining: Jon, tall and proud, hunched into a fetal position with a small, red-haired Alanna as his tortuorer.

"Raoul, take a picture for blackmail, will you?" Gary asked in between laughter.

"One step waayyy ahead of you my friend." Raoul grinned back. Both of them ignored Jon's pleas for help

* * *

**While I know this doesn't suffice as a chapter, I wanted to let you guys know I've been busy busy busy and after my AP History Exam on Friday I'll post a longer one, since it's been over two months. Yikes! On a brighter note, Osama bin Laden has been killed by the U.S. SEAL team. This is a monumental, symbolic event in the War on Terrorism and has offered hope to many people who lost loved ones in the 9/11 attack. Bear with me here, it's a significant historical event and you can't help but be glad he is gone. Now I don't want any flames about this. Anyway, stay posted on current events 'cause any day can be a part of history. Stay tuned for more on Alanna and Twisted Choices!**


	11. Forbidden Lust

**So I re-read this story last night and 1) couldn't believe I wrote this damn good of a story and 2) realized how much I missed it. Without further ado, I give you the long awaited next chapter of "Twisted Choices". Time wise, this is Wednesday on Alanna/Alan's second week at school. Note: I will use Alanna/Alan interchangeably whenever she's around other boys.**

* * *

"Mr. Naxen, your father may be the headmaster of this school but that does not give you the right to doodle all over my desks." Mr. Olau looked at Gary over the top of his reading glasses. The whole class had now turned to Gary, who was grinning sheepishly, but of course, was taking it all in stride.

"Well sir," He began. "I find myself deprived of an art class this year and noticed that your desks were strangely absent from any sort of decoration and I took it upon myself to garnish the surface with my remarkable renderings of my peers and illustrations of dinosaurs."

Alanna rolled her eyes and laid her head down on her forearm. In the week and a half she had known Gary, she found that he quite literally, never shut up and while he was respectful of the teachers, always seemed to talk back to them. She was honestly surprised that he hadn't received more than a warning but since he was practically friends with all the teachers at Conte d'Royale she suspected he'd never receive a reprimandation for talking back or disrupting the class. It was also due to his father being the headmaster. Besides that, Gary was funny, quirky and smart and Alanna had come to respect him. Except for these occasions, where she silently wondered if he might have the maturity of a sixth grader.

Mr. Olau put down the book of Tusaine cavalry from which he had been teaching and came over to inspect Gary's drawings. Alanna was sitting across the aisle from Gary and could only make out a few scribbles. Mr. Olau blocked her view as he leaned over the desk.

"Hmmmm I'm quite sure your 'peers' are rather out of proportion," the History teacher inspected Gary's work. "And the shading is most atrocious. Do you really wish to call that a dinosaur? I'm sure a sausage with spikes on its back would appropriately categorize it." The class tittered and beside Alanna, Jon was doing a poor job of holding in his laughter.

"All in all Mr. Naxen, I would give you a C minus for your efforts." Myles Olau looked down at his grinning student. "I hope it wouldn't be too much to ask of you to come back here after the end of the day so that you could remove your, eh, art work. Oh and some other less artistically talented students have also took it upon themselves to scribble on some of the other desks so I hope you don't mind cleaning them off as well."

Gary was grinning broadly from ear to ear and had leaned back with his arms linked behind his head. "Of course I'd be happy to assist you in any way possible Mr. Olau. You are positively my favorite teacher here."

"Suck up," Alex mumbled under his breath and rolled his eyes. He unfortunately was sitting next to Gary and Mr. Olau heard his mutterings.

"Oh of course like any good friend Mr. Tirragen, I'm sure you wouldn't mind supporting Mr. Naxen. I'll expect to see both of you after the end of dinner bell has been rung." Alex pursed his lips and stared angrily at the back of Mr. Olau as the plump man walked up to the front of the room and resumed his lecture on Tusaine Calvary and the part they played in past wars.

"You're so dead," Alex whispered to Gary. The larger boy gulped nervously and sent a pleading look to Alanna and Jon, who in turn, winked at him and gave him thumbs up for good luck.

* * *

"I'm never going to understand this." Raoul moaned. "This will likely be the death of me! Oh sweet Delia, I will never savor the sweet taste of your lips! Ow!" The muscular boy exclaimed as Gary poked him in the side with a pen.

"Don't be so dramatic, Raoul, you know she's more into me. I don't know why you keep going after her." Gary muttered. "And if you actually paid attention in class then maybe you'd actually understand your Math homework."

"You are wrong again my dear friend," Raoul winced as he rubbed his side. "I got her number first, from Delia herself, which means she totally digs me more. And if math was a little more interesting then maybe I could concentrate. Besides, who's the one that has to clean Mr. Olau's desks this evening?"

Alanna sat in the courtyard with her friends after dinner and listened to Gary and Raoul bicker over Delia and other nonsense. From their group, it seemed those two boys had been the most stricken with Delia. It was quite funny. Alanna had come to know more about this green-eyed beauty that the two kept obsessing over and found that she went through boys like she went through clothes. Alanna didn't understand why any girl would degrade herself by becoming an object of men's desires and taking advantage of those feelings. It was sickening and small wonder that many men considered women inferior to them. She sighed. Most girls her age were much too complicated to figure out and Alanna much preferred to keep company with boys. They were about as easy to read as an open book. Alanna glanced at Jon who was busy playing Angry Birds on Alex's phone. Well, most boys were easy to read. She didn't know what to do about the whole situation with Jon. It confused her to no end. How did he become so attracted to her in just a week and a half? Was he really gay or just bi? What would happen between them as the year moved on? Would they ever be in a relationship? There were so many questions dancing around Alanna's head.

It wasn't like she wasn't attracted to him. She admired the view whenever Jon would strip off his shirt after gym or come shirtless out of the shower in the morning. Not only that, she definitely loved his blue-eyes, the confidence with which he held himself, his special talent to make her laugh and put her in a good mood and strangely enough, the way that he kissed her and the way he caressed her. Since Monday morning he hadn't kissed or made a move on her. At first she had been glad, but now only two days later she was yearning for him to do so again. But he thought of her as a boy so really it was wrong for Alanna to deceive him in the first place! Grgh! It was all too frustrating! She wanted him that was for sure. She wanted to crawl into bed with him at night, wanted him to caress her like he did only last Saturday night in the forest, wanted to grind her body against his hard and muscular one, wanted to kiss his soft lips with ecstasy and…No, no, no. She was not going to think of all the intimate things she wanted to do with Jonathon Conte! She was a prisoner of his affections and of her own body, which reacted to Jon in the most bizarre fashion.

On an unrelated thought, she mused, there were fencing try-outs this Friday to worry about. Gary had tried calming her down, saying that they were quite easy and almost anyone who tried could get on the team. Of course that was easy to say when one was as good a fencer as Gary. Alanna saw Gary practice once and her heart dropped into her stomach. Who was she kidding? All her new friends had years of experience on her while she had only started in 7th grade, just barely two years ago. Gary had said he started around eight while Jon admitted to fencing professionally at the tender age of eleven. Sure Gary, no worries. Alanna had taken it upon herself to fill in all the free time she had last week and this week to practice her fencing. And just if she hadn't enough problems, the over-whelming, looming predicament that hung over her like a dark cloud was how long she would be able to keep up her charade of being a boy. The first week, she had practically panicked at every moment that someone would accidently bump into her and notice her chest or walk in on her changing in the bathroom during gym. Even the ridiculous notion of some teacher becoming suspicious scared her, even though she had no rational notion of what they might be suspicious of. Did she walk too much like a girl? She was really skinny for a girl her age but even so could they magically see her slender curves through her uniform? She fervently prayed that she could get through these four years but with her luck, she wouldn't even survive the first. Besides, Jon would surely find out soon. There was no way to hide her true sex from him while living in such close quarters for long.

"Hey Alan, wake up." Jon waved a hand in front of her face. Alanna blinked rapidly; she didn't realize she had been spacing out.

"Hmm sorry." She said startled. Everyone was looking at her; apparently Jon had asked her something. Before he could repeat his question, Alex pounced on Alanna, metaphorically speaking.

"So what was on your mind?" Alex asked slyly. "Fencing tryouts? Gary told me and like he said, they're a laugh. You'll do fine. Unless you weren't thinking about fencing?" He smirked. "Perhaps a special girl back home?"

Alanna felt her face heat up and turn an unflattering shade of red. "No, you're off by light years. There's no one at home that I'd even be the slightest bit interested in!" Right on target: there weren't any attractive boys in her hometown.

Raoul nudged her playfully in the ribs. "Haha, why would you be so embarrassed about it if he's wrong."

"I'm not embarrassed!" Alanna sputtered. "You should learn to mind your own damn business!"

"I really can't imagine a girl of short enough stature existing to keep our Alan company." Gary chuckled. Alanna stood up suddenly and clenched her fists, hating where this conversation was heading.

"Talking about back home just reminded me: I promised to call my brother tonight." It wasn't necessarily a lie: Alanna had promised to call Thom soon but not tonight. It worked as a wonderful excuse though.

"Aww and here we thought we might actually get to uncover a bit of dirt on Firehead." Raoul sighed.

"I'm sorry maybe another time. Plus don't we all have some homework to finish?" She suggested, steering the conversation away from herself.

"Ah, shit you're right." Alex moaned. "Six pages of AP Calculus are waiting for me."

"Well it's not like anyone _forced _you to take AP Calculus." Raoul replied in a smug voice.

"You're sounding awfully confident for someone who's still in Algebra II in his _junior _year." Alex pointed out, just as smugly as Raoul. Raoul in turn said nothing but scrunched up his upper lip at Alex. Gary, who still sat next to Raoul, laughed quietly to himself.

"You know he's right."

"Don't even start." Raoul warned. Both knew it was a completely empty threat since Raoul had no temper to speak of and hated getting in fights unless it was absolutely necessary.

Alanna laughed at her friends and hoisted her messenger-style schoolbag onto her shoulder and waved good-bye to them. She had crossed the courtyard and almost went through the dining hall. As she set foot in the doorway, she changed her mind, preferring to take the outside path under a little covered sidewalk that would lead her to a door to a back flight of stairs up to her dorm. She had chanced upon it by accident last week, after Ralon had given her a black eye. She saw him walking outside after school in the courtyard right as she had wanted to go swipe a few snacks from the dining hall. Alanna had hurriedly slipped into this small covered pathway before he saw her. She was glad she found it and was happy that she had never seen anyone else on this path. Thick leafy trees covered one side of the pathway and the other side was adjoined to the wall so that it almost created a tunnel. She was almost to the hidden door, virtually over-grown with ivy, when she heard running steps on the path behind her. She turned quickly and Jon came into view.

"Hey, wait up Alan." He called out. Alanna bit her upper lip. Damn Jonathon! Was it so much to ask for some peace and quiet around here?

"Why'd you follow me?" Alanna snapped at her blue-eyed friend as he slowed when he approached her.

"I thought I'd walk up with you to our room, but I saw you disappear before you left the courtyard." He panted. Jon looked around at the covered path. "Wow I never knew this existed. It's like a setting from a fairy tale or something." True, Alanna thought. The waning evening sunlight of fading summer filtered through the branches of the trees and the light reflected the green of the leaves. A small butterfly fluttered by, it's wings scarlet and black. Somewhere, a songbird chirped it's evening song, its mate calling out to it. Alanna sighed and leaned up against the wall behind her.

"So," She said awkwardly.

"So what?" Jon answered. He put his hands in his pockets and grinned. Alanna thought to herself if he knew that he was good-looking enough to be a male model. No, he probably did. From his past involvements with girls that Alanna had heard from Gary, Jon knew quite well how attractive he was and knew how to charm girls to do his bidding.

"Nothing." Alanna spoke quickly. "Why did you want to walk up to our room together?"

"Hmm let's think about this for a second Alan," Jon crossed one arm over his chest and the other hand cupped his chin. He took on a sarcastic, exaggerated look of thought. "First, we're friends, as far as I can tell. Second, we're roommates, going to the same room. Third, I like being around you. And fourth, I saw Ralon try to follow you and I wanted to make sure that bastard didn't get to you. Now, if those aren't any plausible reasons as to why I'd want to catch up and walk with you, please enlighten me with an explanation that you would deem reasonable."

Alanna immediately felt miserable and rather silly for asking Jon that. She had assumed that he would want to beg her to speak of their future "relationship". "I'm sorry I snapped at you. I just," She fumbled with her shoulder strap. "I just had a lot on my mind. And I didn't' know Ralon was following me."

Jon's face relaxed into a soft smile. "Silly. That's what friends are for, to look out for each other, right?" He closed the distance between them and tussled her red hair. She swatted his hand away and glared at him with violet eyes.

"Why do people feel the need to do that?" Alanna mumbled as she straightened her hair.

"You're short, which makes it socially acceptable to pat your head." Jon remarked with a grin. "Plus messy hair makes you so much cuter." He added in a low voice.

"Jon," Alanna whispered. He was so close to her now that she could feel the boy's body heat on her exposed skin. She could hear his ragged breath, still uneven from his run before, escaping through his lips as he breathed in and out. She was all too aware of the quickening blood that rushed violently through her veins. The pathway suddenly seemed a lot quieter than it had before and was it her or did it somehow become hotter here than moments before? Her blazer was much too heavy and she only wanted to take it off, Jon's as well, perhaps his shirt while she was at it.

"Alan," Jon's voice irregular as his breath became hitched in his throat. He loved the way the younger boy's messy hair framed his face. He happily took note of Alan's complexion which had reddened considerably and the way he had his lips slightly parted. He wanted nothing more right now to kiss those lips and put his tongue between them.

Alanna leaned into Jon's chest, stood on tiptoe and before either of them knew what was happening, she was kissing Jonathon Conte. Jon stiffened, caught unaware by Alan's unfamiliar behavior but after he did not break the kiss seconds later, Jon relaxed and kissed Alan back. He wrapped his arms around the younger boy's small body and brought him closer to himself so that every inch of them was up against each other. Alanna wound her arms tightly around Jon's neck and the older boy could feel Alan's nails in the back of his neck. Alanna was unable to contain her sheer joy and raked her nails into Jon's skin. Jon moaned and deepened the kiss. He ran his tongue over Alanna's bottom lips, begging for entrance. She complied, passionately running her own tongue over Jon's. Carried away from the pure pleasure that Jon was enticing in her, she whimpered, a sound too feminine for her guise as a boy. Jon did not notice and brought his hand to the small of her back. Alanna felt Jon's hardened erection against her stomach and only wanted to feel it without anything between them. She unclasped one arm from Jon's neck and dragged it slowly down to the waistband of his pants.

_What on earth was she doing?_ She wondered. She was getting too carried away and brought her hand to rest on Jon's chest. The Conte boy, however, would have none of that. It only fueled his passion further when he felt Alan's small hand travel down his chest to his pants. His throat had constricted and he thought Alan would give him the pleasure that he so lusted for. It was with misery that he felt Alan remove his hand. Jon reached up and brought the red-haired boy's hand to the front of his pants.

Alanna give a small experimental squeeze at Jon's bulging erection. Jon broke the kiss as he tilted his head back and groaned. Alanna continued to rub Jon's shaft through the fabric of his pants. The recipient moved his hips to and fro in time with Alan's caress. He only wanted to return the favor and see Alan part his lips like he did before and wanted to hear his small whimper of pleasure. Jon gripped Alan's belt and attempted to undo it. Alanna's heart skipped over a few beats before she knew what was happening. Jon still thought her a boy! She most definitely would not let her secret come out like this!

She moved her hips away from Jon's touch, and unbelievably, stumbled, tripped and ultimately, fell to the ground in a heap with an uncharacteristic squeal as she felt her ankle twist beneath her.

Jon stood dazed where only a moment before he had been kissing the red-haired boy. It was hard for him to switch gears so fast, especially now considering the need and want Alan had stirred up within him.

"Don't just stand there!" Alanna barked. "Help me up!"

"Alan!" Jon exclaimed. "Did you hurt yourself? I'm so sorry!" He crutched next to Alanna and noticed how her face was tightened by obvious pain. "What's wrong?"

"I think I twisted my ankle." Alanna grimaced. Damn her clumsiness! One minute she had been in pure bliss, going further than she had ever gone before with any boy, and now she was sitting injured on the ground.

"Let me see." Jon took her left calf is his large hand and pulled up his roommate's pants leg so that he could observe the cause of Alan's pain. True to Alan's word, the immediate yellowing discoloring of a bruise could be seen. "Ouch." He murmured. "I think you're right. Do you want me to take you to the Hospital Wing?"

Alanna shook her head. "No, I just need an ice-pack. I have one in the mini-fridge back in our room." Bless these rich snobs and their desire to supply their children with every appliance known to man. "I'll just sit down for a bit with an ice-pack. Here just help me up." Alanna tried to stand with Jon as her balancing support. She stumbled forward when she tried to take a step and almost fell flat on her face. It was Jon who caught her and held her up.

"You won't get far trying to walk as you are." He scooped her easily in his arms, carrying her bridal style. "Wow, you're lighter than you look."

Alanna scowled. "This isn't necessary Jon." She hissed. "Give me a crutch or something and I can walk perfectly fine." Jon would notice her now. She was too light and too soft in all the wrong spots. There was no way this could end well at all.

"Sure you can walk, about as well as a drunk." Jon argued.

"It won't do well for you to insult drunk people." Alanna muttered under her breath. Jon only chortled and shook his head at his friend's pert remark.

He made his way down the path and struggled to keep himself under control. It was just his luck that he had a chance to both kiss Alan _and _hold the younger boy in his arms on the same day, even if it wasn't under the circumstances that he imagined. His blood still pounded through his body and his pants were still tight around his groin. He wouldn't be getting rid of that anytime soon, not with Alan snuggled up tightly against his chest. "Put your arms around my neck." He grunted. He paused to shift Alan in his arms.

"What!" Alanna asked incredulously.

"If I recall you weren't too hesitant about doing that a minute ago." Jon whispered slyly into her ear. Alanna felt her cheeks heating up. How dare he! Well, this was what she got if she let her emotions and hormones get the better of her. She grudgedly put her arms around Jon's neck and Jon immediately found it easier to carry her. Alanna bit on her lower lip to keep herself quiet and ducked her head so that Jon couldn't see her blush, yet again. She'd really have to work to get that under control. She wondered how Jon could remain so calm throughout this all. Her mind was screaming for her to do something to pull Jon back into the kiss they had shared before but Alanna held herself in restraint. Was Jon having the same difficulty? An evil, twisted idea popped into her head. Ever so slightly and softly, she kissed Jon on the spot between his jawline and earlobe. A small intake of breath let her know Jon was still just as aroused as she was.

"Alan," Jon warned. He couldn't stop the shiver that went down his spine and he knew that Alan felt it as well.

Alanna chided herself; she had been on the verge of being discovered and yet she continued to push this farther!

"Yes Jon?" Alanna answered too sweetly. Jon briefly marveled at Alan's sudden change. He had been the one telling Jon not to do kiss him or do anything of the like yet he was, teasing him as if they were lovers!

"You don't know what that does to me." Jon's voice was so raspy. Alanna decided to stop now before things got too far, meaning before Jon went completely out of control and decided that clothes were unnecessary.

The elder dark-haired boy had now reached the landing at the top of the back stairs to the hallway that led to their shared room. With a quick peek around to make sure no one saw them, Jon walked as swiftly as could with Alan tucked in his arms. He dumped Alan unceremoniously on the bed and locked the door behind him. The Conte boy spun around and saw his roommate had sprawled himself on the bed.

"Enjoying the sight are we?" Alanna drawled. Just keep yourself together Jon she begged. Why did she have to do this to herself?

"Very much so." Answered Jon.

"So how about that ice pack?" Alanna demanded eager to break that awkward atmosphere that suddenly hung in their room. Jon sprung to action and almost tripped over his feet as he lunged towards the mini fridge.

"It's ok Jon, don't kill yourself." Alanna sighed and sat up into a less suggestive pose.

"Here!" Her friend placed the ice-pack on her bruised ankle and Alanna couldn't help but moan in relief. Jon twitched at her moan and just when he felt that he had gotten himself under control, his friend once again aroused him. He sat next to Alan on the bed and turned the red-head's face towards him, meaning to finish what they had started.

_Oh shit, _was the only thing going through Alanna's mind as Jon closed in to kiss her. A loud knock at the door sent Jon flying through the air and falling onto his back in surprise. Alanna squeaked and jumped off the bed, forgetting her injured ankle.

"Ah!" Her limb would not support her and she fell on top of Jonathon.

"Is everything alright in there?" Raoul's voice could be heard on the other side of the door.

"Yes," Jon's voice broke. He cleared his throat and repeated. "Yes! Alan just fell down!" Ignoring Alanna's death glare as he passed the blame onto her, he straightened his clothes and motioned for Alanna to do the same. He opened the door to reveal Raoul, Douglass and Francis all standing at the door.

"Sorry about that." Douglass apologized. "With all this homework we thought perhaps we'd come over and have a study group."

"Alex and Gary went to Mr. Olau's classroom to scrub off the desks!" Gary explained and pushed past Jon into the room. Alanna was still sitting on the floor holding the ice pack in one hand.

"Mithros Alan!" Exclaimed her larger friend as he saw the bruise. "Can't you go one week without getting into trouble?"

Meeting Jonathon's gaze she answered, "Believe me Gary, I wish."

* * *

***evil laughter* So how was the love scene between Alanna and Jon? Be honest with me here. It was only the first "serious" one that I've really written for a story. And don't worry; it's not turning into a meaningless smut story. I try to go for balancing out the smut and plotline. Again, sorry with the long wait, my life got in the way. Review and tell me what you thought of it. More reviews I get the faster I will update!**


	12. TryOuts

**Since I know I will be busy for a while, I took advantage of my spare time to write this chapter and update soon. Not as, hmm, entertaining as the last one but here's the try-outs for the fencing team that Alanna was so worried about. Considering she spends half her time worrying about it, I might as well give it due credit (the majority of the chapter). Info: Black Sabbath, Metallica and Slayer are heavy metal bands while AFI is alternative rock, if anyone is wondering. Sorry to all AFI fans. I'm more of a heavy metal person :D**

(line)

Alanna collapsed face-first onto her bed after a tiring day of school and groaned into her comforter. While it was only Friday, two weeks after arriving at Conté d'Royale, she felt as if she had lived several lifetimes here. She was proud of herself, having lasted this long. There was so much work! The teachers here were either demons in the flesh and blood trying to torture the students with an insane amount of work or Alanna was in way over her head. She thought that Friday might prove to be some relief, besides fencing try-outs, but in fact, it only worsened. By the end of the week she had raked up eight pages of Algebra homework, a two-page paper for History of female knights during the Medieval Period, a worksheet for Biology and one essay a piece for Writing Class, Tactical Warfare and Yamani Studies. All was due on the respective A or B day after the weekend. Alanna had looked forward to this time off, hoping to go into the city for a day and see George again.

_Speaking of George, _she thought. He had texted her the day after he sent the suggestive and drunken text, apologizing for his coarseness and perverseness. Not wanting to lose George because of something so silly, she replied that it was nothing and was not offended by what he wrote. He offered to make it up to her, promising to show her the sights of Corus, to which Alanna whole-heartedly agreed. While she really did like Jon, she needed some time away from as they were practically together 24/7. Alanna hoped Jon wouldn't take it personally when she told him that she was going to Corus without him. Knowing Jon, he'd sleep like a rock until noon and she could waltz out the door without an explanation. Glancing at her bulging schoolbag, she grimaced, realizing that she could kiss her care-free weekend good-bye.

The atmosphere in their room was awkward to say the least. After the episode Wednesday afternoon, there had been increased tension between the two of them. Alanna was, on one hand, hating herself for starting a relationship that could unearth her secret masquerade and lying to Jon about it. On the other hand, she wanted to be with Jon, she really did. Unless they swore celibacy, something Alanna couldn't imagine doing, not with the attraction she felt towards Jon, she thought that their chance of having a normal relationship was doomed. On the bright side, both were too exhausted yesterday, Thursday, to even think about anything relating to kissing or sex for that matter.

Only minutes later, Jon entered the room with his own full book bag, the teachers apparently showing no mercy to juniors as well. Under his arm he carried a rolled up poster.

"Are you alive Alan?" Jon took note of the suspiciously still boy lying on his bed. It wouldn't look good on his academic record if his roommate just so happened to die while they were living together. Alan grunted.

_Huh, not even a 'Hello' or 'What's up?'. _Jon was slightly disappointed as he thought that after Wednesday, Alan might have changed his attitude towards their relationship. Nope. Jon sighed. _I'll give him some more time._

"How does this look here?" Jon asked for her opinion as he unfurled an Angry Birds poster and hung it above his bed. He broke her brooding and Alanna rolled over onto to her side.

"You're not serious?" Alanna questioned Jon's sanity.

"Does it look that bad?" Jon observed the poster, chin in hand as he rubbed his stubble which he refused to shave off. "I don't think it's all that bad."

"Jon, its Angry Birds." Alanna swept her arm in the offending poster's direction. "Why do you need a poster like that? How old are you now?" Jon's face fell, like a child who's been dragged out forcefully from a candy shop.

Alanna continued. "Besides, it clashes with your band posters. Black Sabbath and Slayer don't go hand in hand with adorable, vengeful birds."

"How dare you say that!" Jon gasped in astonishment. He pointed at Alanna's own posters hanging on her side of the wall. "I'd say that it's practically blasphemy to put Metallica and something as horrible as AFI next to each other!"

Now it was Alanna's turn to gasp. "I should challenge you to a fencing duel right here in our room. You don't disrespect AFI!"

"Well you're sure as hell disrespecting Metallica by hanging up that horrendous band _**right next to them!**_" Jon belted out.

"That's it!" Alanna stomped her foot and curled her hands into fists. "Let's settle this right now, man to man!" She challenged Jon, not thinking of the repercussions if she got into such close contact with the older boy.

"Man to man you say?" Jon smirked and folded his arms across his chest. "Sorry I don't fight children." Alanna growled and jumped onto him, sending him backwards onto his bed. Alanna's full weight came all at once on Jon's chest and he felt the wind knocked right out of him. Alanna was straddling him, on the verge of strangling the Conté boy, when someone knocked on their door. The red-haired girl sprung up from her compromising position and straightened her tie.

A cheerful Gary greeted her as she swung the door open.

"I thought I might come by for an hour or so before fencing try-outs begin." Gary explained as he entered the room.

"Ugh, don't remind me." Alanna groaned and collapsed into her desk chair. Gary raised an inquisitive eyebrow and nodded questioningly towards Jon, who lay gasping for breath much like a fish out of water.

"What did he do to piss you off?" Gary asked.

"You mean what didn't he do."

Gary chuckled and ran his hand through his unkempt curls. He broke into giggles when he saw the Angry Birds poster on the wall.

"Please don't tell me that was what you were fighting about?"

Alanna threw up her hands in exasperation. "I said he was too old for it and he goes insulting my AFI poster!"

"A. F. I?" Gary stretched each letter into a question.

"It's a band." Alanna shook her head. "Don't worry about it."

Gary once again looked at Jon's new poster. "At least it's not one of Twilight."

By now, Jon had recovered and sat up into a sitting position. He coughed and rubbed his aching chest where Alan had jumped onto him.

"Damn Alan. What a temper you have. How did Ralon manage to land a hit on you?"

Alanna blushed and jumped to her feet. "For the last time I didn't get into a fight with Ralon, I-"

"Fell down." Said Gary and Jon in unison.

"Yes, we know that story." Gary sighed. "You were unfortunate enough to be lost on the second day of school and just when you thought you couldn't take it anymore, Ralon was kind enough to come to your rescue and point you in the right way of travel. So over-joyed were you that you fell over your own feet trying to thank him and thus, mysteriously received a black eye. Quite convincing."

"Oh shut up you." Alanna sorely ran a hand around her faded black eye. The bright evidence of her fight had all but disappeared as the skin around her eye had lightened to yellow.

"You should be an actor Gary." Jon suggested mildly. "Your big mouth might serve you well."

"Nah I'm too straight to be an actor." Gary waved a dismissive hand. "How about we go down and chill out in the lounge? It's too stuffy in here." Both Alanna and Jon agreed, the girl perhaps a little reluctantly, wanting to relax before her try-outs. She grabbed her bag of protective gear and foils so she wouldn't have to run up to her room to retrieve it. Before she turned to leave, she cast one last look at the ridiculous Angry Birds poster adorning the wall above Jon's bed.

(line)

"Fencing is an art, a combination of sport, wit and dance. It has been a symbol of honor and wealth ever since it's beginning, nearly two thousand years ago when the first swords were forged." Duke Naxen paced up and down in front of the line of hopeful boys (and Alanna) who wished to become part of the fencing team. They listened eagerly, clearly not wishing to upset the man who was in charge of determining who made it and who didn't make it onto the team. "Fencing is not something to be taken lightly. It is not a purely physical sport like football or wrestling. Fencing requires determination, patience, intelligence and cunning skill. It calls for discipline and respect for yourself and your opponent. It is not something to be trifled with." The Headmaster glanced around to make sure he had everyone's undivided attention. "Furthermore, if you meet the qualifications necessary to make the team, I will expect nothing more than stellar behavior from you at all times." He stopped pacing and turned to them, smiling. To Alanna, it looked more like a pained grimace. "Of course that's not to say I don't want each of you to have fun here. To make this run smoothly, I will call out two students to come before me and the two team captains. Everyone else, please take a seat over there on the bleachers." He waved a hand to dismiss them.

"He never changes does he?" Raoul sighed.

"Does he write that speech down?" Douglass wondered. "I mean it sounds almost exactly like the one from last year."

"That's because it _is _the same speech from last year." Alex drawled. "I think a piece of cardboard would have more of a personality than that man." He glanced at Gary. "No offense mate."

"None taken." Grinned Gary, ever in a good mood.

"I can't believe you're related to him. I don't think he's ever broken a rule in his life, and yet here _you_ are," Jon gestured at Gary.

"Hehe, I think it skips a few generations." Gary grinned and sat his bag down one of the bleachers. "Well I'll see you out on the floor I guess. Have to go inspect all these rookies." He winked at Alanna.

She sputtered. "Wait! _You're _a captain?"

"My, my, Alan I'm quite offended that you have so little faith and confidence in me." The curly-haired boy sighed and tussled the young girl's hair then walked off to stand next to his father.

"How did that happen?" Alanna asked Jon in wonder.

Jon gave her a questioning look. "I thought you would have known by now: Gary is a world-class champion fencer. He won the world title in July, a few days after turning 17." It took all of Alanna's restraint to keep her from running out of the gym.

_I don't belong here! It's ridiculous how accomplished everyone is, expect me. _

Alanna saw Ralon also walk to stand on the other side of the Headmaster.

"No, don't tell me," Alanna moaned. Was there no end to the surprises of this school? "Don't tell me that Ralon is a captain too."

"You're not the only one who's wondering how that slimy bastard got the position." Alex spat. "He's rude, obnoxious, bullies underclassmen but to teachers he behaves like an angel." He glared at the older bully. "Well, like an ugly angel."

Duke Naxen wasted no time that afternoon. He promptly called two boys, whose names Alanna did not catch, to the floor. They were outfitted in their white protective gear and when they reached the mat, they pulled down their masks to cover their face so that every inch of their body was covered.

"Now I want a nice clean game from both of you," The Headmaster warned. "There is no time limit. I will end the match when I think you have proven your abilities to me. Take your positions." Both boys angled their bodies, one foot behind the other and crossed their swords. "Begin!" Naxen barked.

Over the course of uncounted minutes, Alanna watched the pair block, attack, parry and land a blow on each other. The larger of the two seemed more sure of his movements and over time, his attacks became sharper and faster while the smaller boy only defended. The larger boy lunged and for a moment, Alanna thought he would touch the other boy with the end of his foil, marking a victory. Quicker than lightning the smaller boy brought his sword up to touch his partner square in the chest. His opponent stood dumb-founded, sword swishing down into thin air.

"End!" Duke Naxen called out. The two of them took off their masks. The small boy, the victor, turned out to be Francis Nond. Alanna clapped for him along with her other friends. The loser, the over-confident boy whose arrogance was his Achilles Heel, was a junior. He politely shook hands with Francis although Alanna took note of the firm set of his jaw and the strained smile on his face. Clearly, he was not over-joyed to having lost to a freshman.

For the next hour, Alanna continued to watch as pairs of boys were called up to spar in front of Duke Naxen, Gary and Ralon. She wondered off hand how Gary and Ralon managed to get along, but then remembered how frightened Ralon was of Duke Naxen. She put that away to save for a later date. After the boys were done, the Headmaster calling End, the three would converse for a few seconds and call down the next pair. There was no hint as to who they were going to accept. Some fights lasted for quite a while, others were brief and short, especially if one boy made a mistake. In fact, the fight between Jon and Alex was so long that they had sweat running down their foreheads by the time they were done. Of course, nothing could ease the nerves in Alanna's stomach. She felt so self-conscious sitting there in her all white protective suit. She must look stupid, she reasoned. Bright red hair, the smallest student in the school and dressed head to toe in a sort of jumpsuit: she reckoned that if Willy Wonka was looking for Oompa Loompas for another movie he should contact her.

"Alan Trebond and Douglass Veldine." Alanna literally shot out of her seat as her name was called. She misjudged her footing and fell onto her bag of foils. She tumbled into the bleacher below her, her foils falling on top of her.

_If there was a Hell, surely this must be it._ Alanna wanted nothing more than to blend into the bleachers and sit there quietly for the reminder of the week or better yet the rest of the year, or however long it took people to forget this incident.

"Mr. Trebond if falling down the bleachers is your way to incur some sort of sympathy in me for you, then I shall tell you that your attempts have failed miserably." When Alanna sat up, Jon felt so sorry for his friend: in the short time he had known her, he had never seen Alan anywhere near this shade of red. Alanna cleared her throat and grabbed one of her foils, slowly making her way to the sparring mat.

Looking up from underneath her lashes, she could see Ralon snickering at her. Great, she won't be able to live this down. She happily pulled down her mask to shield her burning face and gripped her foil more tightly. Suddenly, she had an idea. She switched her sword to her left hand, knowing that Douglass was right-handed. She grinned and quickly congratulated herself for her quick thinking. The majority of fencers were right-handed and everything was learned from a right-handed person's point of view. Alanna had broken her right arm a year ago, forcing her to learn to use her left hand to fence. She felt some small glimmer of hope that she wouldn't fail at this as well.

"Begin!" Duke Naxen called out. Douglass lunged, stepping forward with his foot to deliver the attack. Alanna parried the blow and took it as an opportunity to unbalance her opponent. She parried, then lunged. Douglass had not been expecting an attack so fast and grimaced when he felt Alan's foil tip touch his chest. He had been confused by the left-handed attack and therefore had let his entire left side remain unguarded.

"Guard!" Duke Naxen yelled. Alanna and Douglass once again resumed their opening stance. Alanna mentally cheered at her success. Now if only she could concentrate for a few more minutes….

The rest of the match was a blur to her. Douglass managed to get her twice in a row after her initial hit. It crushed her confidence but staying firm was one of the first lessons Coram had taught her: do not panic and do not falter. An opponent will take advantage of her uneasiness. Parry, block, attack, block attack, lunge, parry, hit! Alanna grinned.

"End!" The Headmaster's voice signaled the end of the match. Alanna was confused: neither of them had lost, but neither of them had won. It didn't matter though. She felt that she had done passably well. Alanna threw off her mask and wiped the perspiration that had built up on her forehead. Across from her, Douglass did the same. They shook each other's hands and made their way back to where their friends were sitting.

"Impressive Firehead." Jon complimented her with a dashing grin. Alanna felt her heart flutter. Had Jon put a spell on her to act this odd whenever she was around him? He must have for her behavior was becoming absurd. Raoul pulled her into a chokehold and playfully rubbed a fist against the top of her head.

"See?" I knew you'd do alright Alan," He laughed. "Of course I thought you'd never be able to pull that off using your left hand but you're just as talented as someone using the other hand."

"Quite impressive I must say." Alex said in his smooth voice. Alanna smiled and knew she had won the dark-haired boy's approval. Francis congratulated her with a smile and a very manly pat to the back.

"Phew that gave me a run for my money." Douglass shook his head. "And I thought I had the advantage of height and all." Alanna tossed her gloved at Douglass who ducked behind Jon. Jon squeaked when the glove smacked him in the face. Alanna and her friends couldn't stop giggling and only left as soon as Duke Naxen told them to get out of the fencing gym before he put them all on the team just to have the pleasure of disqualifing the lot of them.

They had laughed all the way to the dining hall where they sat down for a huge celebratory meal. A very much deserved meal, thought Alanna as she grabbed several pieces of chicken off a platter. She felt that she could relax for now, and worry about the more important things tomorrow. She glowered at Raoul who accidently threw at carrot at her, missing Alex. In return, as Raoul was sitting next to her, she spilled his drink into his lap. It was hilarious until Mr. Olau kindly reminded them that they were disturbing the other students and he had more desks to clean up in his classroom if they did not behaving like fools. They quietly obeyed, and sat through dinner unobtrusively, with the occasional giggle.

(line)

Alanna lay cuddled up with her pillow as she waited for Jon to finish his shower. Well, she was mostly waiting for him to come out shirtless, something that Jon never failed to do. She always got dressed in the bathroom as she had no choice but to do so. A stream of giggles escaped her. This was completely out of character for her. She couldn't imagine the look on Thom's face if she ever told him that she, Alanna Trebond, had fallen head-over heels for a guy in two weeks! She held her pillow tighter and pondered over the idea that someone could incur these feelings in her.

Jon stepped out of the bathroom they shared, shirtless and clad only in boxers. Alanna wasn't sure If Jon purposely "forgot" his shirt whenever he went to take a shower, but she sure as hell wasn't complaining.

"My face is still sore." Jon rubbed his cheek where Alanna had thrown her glove at him.

"So? What do you want me to do about it?" Alanna yawned. She couldn't even remember the last time she had been this tired. The whole week had worn her out and she desperately needed sleep.

"Hmm how about a kiss to make it better?" Jon whispered. Alanna turned her head, shocked to find Jon so close to her. Hadn't he just been on the other side of the room a second ago?

"You're insane, you know that?"

"It's just a kiss." Jon said, a begging like tone creeping into his voice. "Surely you don't want me to suffer in pain?"

"If it makes you shut up then I'll gladly do it." Alanna heaved herself up to plant a kiss on Jon's face then rolled her whole body over so that she was laying on her stomach, facedown into her pillow.

"That's it?" Jon asked incredulously. He smirked, knowing how to get exactly what he wanted out of the violet-eyed boy.

"That was really horrible of you to hurt me today." He drew a breath and leaned in closer to Alan's ear. "It was terribly naughty of you to throw that glove at me." Jon drew a finger down Alan's bare forearm. "You do know that naughty boys have to be punished for their actions right? It wouldn't be right to let you get off so easily."

When Jon received no answer from his roommate, he poked Alanna curiously in the side. Alanna let out a little snore.

"What the hell?" Jon whispered. He gently moved Alan over onto his side. Jon rolled his eyes as he beheld the sight in front of him: Alan had fallen asleep. Jon rolled his eyes and smiled. Alan looked so innocent when he slept. Jon was aware that watching Alan sleep was just about as normal as Edward Cullen hanging out in Bella's room when she slept. Shuddering at the horrendous thought, Jon got off Alan's bed and drew his comforter over his small body. Jonathon snuggled into his own bed and turned off the light on the nightstand.

Sleep did not come easy to Jonathon Conte that night. Usually he had no problem falling asleep after a deliberating and hard week at school, but for some reason his body would not let him sleep that night. He felt so restless; especially sense his desires had been unfulfilled after Alan fell asleep.

Alan.

From the dim light in the room, Jon could only make out a dim outline of the boy. His groin throbbed and Jon only wanted release from this pent up desire. He turned his back to Alan but his face was etched into Jon's mind. He groaned a little when he felt his penis grow hard and although he waited, his erection would not go away. Casting one look over at the quiet and motionless Alan, Jon reached into his boxers and wrapped his hand around his shaft. No need for fancy foreplay tonight. He was only looking to cum. He rubbed the sensitive skin at the head of his penis and made his way down to the hilt and back up again. Jon couldn't help but let a moan escape him as he thought of Alan's lips on his own. He now stroked himself faster, up and down, rubbing his head and then repeating the motions. His breath was uneven as he tried to stay quiet. He squeezed harder and he imagined Alan's small hand on his penis, just like Wednesday afternoon. Damn it had felt so good. Jon rubbed himself faster as he felt his balls tighten and the pressure building up inside, just waiting to be released. Jon tried to restrain the noises he made, quite aware that they were becoming louder. Just a little more…Jon stuffed his face against the pillow as came, squeezing himself once more.

Alanna lay motionless in bed, having too, been unable to sleep. Sure she had dozed off when Jon had been talking to her, but only for a little while. She had listened to Jon toss and turn in his sheets for half the night when suddenly it went quiet. She tucked herself more securely into her blankets, thinking Jon had finally settled down. She froze when he heard Jon moan. It was only softly, but the darkness of the night amplified every quiet noise. More groans followed as well as the sound of Jon stroking his shaft. Alanna could clearly tell that Jon was enjoying himself over there, most likely thinking of her as he pleasured himself.

Was it wrong that she wished she was the one pleasuring Jon?

(line)

**Oh yes, Oompa Loompas, Angry Birds and Twilight bashing :D I don't intend to make this into a soft porno so not every chapter will have naughty scenes like that, if you're worried about it. Just got the idea last night and HAD to write in. Anyway, review, review, review and I'll update again very soon. Hmm I got 5 from the last chapter. How many more can I get now?**


	13. Mondays Suck

**I'm so sorry that I was on an updating roll then totally stopped again. A lot of people suddenly started putting this on their Favorites and Story Alert lists so I decided it was time to update again. Also, word of advice: don't wait to do your college applications at the last minute (like I did). This is more of a chapter to move the story along and doesn't contain smut. **

There are those who are absolute geniuses and spend their free-time studying earnestly and enthusiastically, if only to stay at the top of the class. There are those who procrastinate until the last minute because they are subdued with the dreaded artist's disease of "writer's block" or they couldn't care to put the time in to do their work properly. Then there are the majority of people who have the intent to finish their assignments, but it seemingly takes them longer than the geniuses of the world.

Such was the case for Alanna Trebond, who lay fast asleep at her desk with her head upon her half-done essay and a stack of books surrounding her. Her red hair stuck out at odd angles where she had run her hands through in frustration by the sheer amount of work forced upon her by her teachers. Jon was in similar state; however, while he had passed out in the early hours of the morning on his bed with his partially completed homework. Both had attempted to pull all-nighters, but to no avail. They had thought that they had the whole weekend to do their homework, all the time in the world and worked diligently on it. By the time Sunday night rolled around, Alanna and Jon had seriously underestimated just how much time was needed to complete all their projects. They had taken their respective study locations in their room and worked until both of them fell asleep somewhere early in the morning. It was only by chance that neither one of them remembered to set the alarm clock. As Alanna shifted slightly in her sleep, her elbow pushed up against of a precariously stacked pile of textbooks and they tumbled to the floor. Alanna's eyes flew open as her elbow slipped off the desk and the tumbling of the tomes startled her. She sat up bewildered and hurriedly turned in her seat to look at her nightstand.

"Ah shit," Alanna cursed as she saw the time on the clock: 7:30 am. If they didn't get a move on already they would be completely and utterly late for class, with no hope of breakfast. She groaned and rubbed the back of her neck which had become stiff during her sleep. Next time she decided to pull an all-nighter she would put a pillow on the desk. Alanna inched her way out of the wooden desk chair and stumbled towards Jon who lay flat on his back, fully dressed in his skinny jeans and T-shirt and drooled onto his comforter. Alanna knew that waking up Jon would be an ordeal in its self. She shook her roommate's shoulder roughly and called his name. Jon only snored loudly and remained asleep. Violet-eyes flashing, Alanna knew she had to do something drastic to get the Conte boy out of bed. She looked around, until she spotted the answer sitting on top of the wardrobe.

"Bloody hell!" Jon practically screamed when Alanna blew the bullhorn next to his ear. He tumbled out of bed and lay panting in a heap.

"Don't. Ever. Do. That. Again." He stretched out each word to emphasize his seriousness.

"I had to get you up some way or another." Alanna shrugged. "Be thankful I didn't throw a bucket of cold water on you. It would have sucked if I had to help you clean up the mess."

"Har-dee, har har har. Very funny Alan." Jon suddenly saw the time indicated on the clock. "7:35 already?" He exclaimed. "We're going to be late."

"Yeah I know!" Alanna answered as she entered the bathroom. "Let me wash my hair real quick and you can brush your teeth or something." She hadn't had a chance to unbind her breasts from the night before and now they hurt more than ever. Even though she had shared a room with Jon for almost three weeks, she only took off the bandages once she was in bed and so far had been able to conceal the fact that she did have breasts. It looked like she wouldn't be able to take off the bandages until tonight.

_No_, she thought. _If this is what it takes to graduate then I'll take a little bit of discomfort here and there. _She bent over in the shower and stuck her head under the rushing water. She knew she'd make an odd sight if anyone came into the bathroom, what with her butt sticking up in the air but she was truly too tired to care.

As it was, Jon quickly dressed into a clean set of his school uniform and walked in to see Alan half in the shower, half out, butt in the air. It was almost the weirdest sight he had ever seen.

"What in Mithros name are you doing?" Jon asked skeptically. Not that he minded the sight but he had never seen any male do this before.

"Washing my hair what does it look like I'm doing?" Alanna snapped back, really not in the mood to explain herself.

Sensing Alan's tense tone, Jon decided any further questioning would not be welcomed. "Never mind. I'll just uh, brush my teeth."

"I don't need a news flash when you decide to practice personal hygiene." Jon scowled at Alan's sarcasm-layered response.

* * *

The two roommates sprinted down the hallways and stairs to the dining hall, not even pausing when a teacher called out for them to slow down. For them, missing food was a life or death situation. When they came face to face with the huge door to the dining hall, they found it closed.

"Damn it all!" Jon swore and kicked at one of the marble stand with a bust of the school's founder. "This is such bullshit!"

Alanna only shook her head and bent over to rest her hands on her knees, panting hard after running non-stop from the their room on the fifth floor. Her mind worked sluggishly from the lack of sleep but she racked her brain trying to think of some other way to get some breakfast. "Don't they have vending machines here?"

Jon ran his hands through his unkempt hair, which reached his shoulders. "Yeah, all the way down by the pool room. But I don't think we have time to run all the way there and back to class." Both of them looked around hopelessly, thinking somewhat naively that a basket of breakfast would drop from the golden-glided ceiling. Alanna scuffed the heel of her shoe on the marble floor and sighed. Hopefully the day couldn't get any worse. Then, it just did.

Jon let out a wail as the morning bell rang, signaling the beginning of first period classes.

"You're not serious," the older boy moaned.

"Well, we're not going to get to class by just standing here." Alanna huffed and grabbed Jon's hand, dragging him back the way they had just come.

"Let's hope they don't do a tardy sweep."

"What's that?" Alanna asked. There wasn't much thought about it, it was mainly an automatic response to something she did not yet know of.

"It's when they hand out detention letters to students who are late to class." Jon answered.

"I thought you needed three tardies to class before you got detention?" Alanna continued to tow Jon behind her, making their way up the grand staircase and to the West Wing where the majority of the classes lay. She had no idea where Jon's morning class was but she was sure he could find his way without her. Besides, why was she holding his hand all of a sudden? She dropped Jon's hand like Kim Kardashian divorced her husband: quite suddenly and with no warning. Alanna didn't look back to see Jon's face but she knew he would be sorely disappointed even if he made no sign of it.

"Yes, you do." Jon said in short huffs as they picked up their pace. They went at a fast jog up the stairs leading to the third floor. Alanna remembered that Alex had told her of a more direct staircase that led to the sixth where the Math Floor was, from the third floor. Alanna hoped she had remembered his exact directions or she would dumbly wander about the hallways, looking for a possibly-existing stairway.

Jon went on with his explanation as they softly ran down the hall, not wanting to disturb the classes in session. "It's something they came up with this year. Apparently they do these random sweeps after the bell rings so if you are not in class you have an automatic detention, regardless if it's your first, second or fiftieth time being late."

Alanna scoffed. "That's ridiculous! What if you're always on time and you got caught in one of these sweeps?"

Jon shrugged his shoulders and followed Alanna down a seemingly unused hallway. "Then you're shit out of luck."

Just as they turned the corner, Alanna rammed into wall. Or so it seemed as if it was a wall.

"Alan? Jon?" Raoul asked them incredulously. The large muscular boy looked shocked to see them here. He shut the door abruptly behind, from which he had come through. Alanna took note of Raoul's flushed face, rumpled clothing, and heavy breathing. She eyed him suspiciously.

"What are you doing out of class?"

"I, erm, I mean.." Raoul trailed off and blushed even harder.

"I thought you were always on time?" Alanna pushed him even harder for answers. Raoul merely stuttered and blushed an even deeper shade of red.

"Well obviously he's ashamed that he got caught and can't call us out for skipping class." Jon added casually. Raoul let out a deep sigh, almost in relief.

"Jeez, calm down ok?" He jokingly put up his hands in mock surrender. "Give me a break. I was tired and overslept and I didn't want anyone to know that I was skipping class."

"So what were you doing in there?" Alanna pointed to the door that Raoul stood in front of.

"Nothing! Nothing at all!" Raoul hastily denied.

Jon rubbed his chin in a Sherlock Holmes impersonation. "It seems to me," he started in a British accent. "That you are not relying to us the whole and entire truth sir, so therefore I must now demand that you speak not in lies but with genuineness and accuracy so that we may discover the true reason for your delay to class."

Alanna put her face into the palms of her hands and shook her head vigorously.

"You are so ridiculous Jon." Raoul chided his friend.

"What?" Jon looked bewildered. "I practiced that accent! And I think that was a _smashing _and _bloody-well done _performance_!"_

"That wasn't a performance you dolt," Raoul groaned. "That was only a show of your limited and sucky acting skills. Please don't try and embarrasses yourself like that again."

Alanna tugged harder at Jon's sleeve. He looked down somewhat sheepishly into her violet eyes. "You know, we really should be going to class now. We're late enough as it is and I don't need any more impromptu 'performances' from you again."

Just then, a teacher rounded the corner. Upon further observation, it was in their luck that it was not a teacher but Headmaster Naxen. Alanna cringed. This was going to be painful.

"What are you three doing out of class?" He demanded. "I saw yourselves, Mr. Conte and Mr. Trebond, pass through the hallway just a few minutes ago and now I see you congregating with Mr. Goldenlake in the back hallways. Would anyone care to explain the reason for this?"

* * *

Alanna sat gloomily in Algebra class. She stared straight forward to the front of the room where her teacher wrote a jumble of squiggles and numbers on the board that somehow amounted to a mathematical equation. Her mind wandered over to the pink detention slip sitting in her schoolbag, wedged between two of her textbooks. _It was so unfair_! Alanna thought angrily for the hundredth time that period. So what if she had overslept and was late, _one time? _And it wasn't even her fault! Well, it sort of was but accidents happen all the time. Headmaster Naxen's lecture had been impressive to say the least. He had spoken of the importance of education, punctuality and respect for the teachers. Jon had later rolled his eyes at this speech after they had left the Headmaster's office. He trudged off to his class, promising to see them at lunch. Raoul and Alanna entered their Algebra class half-way through the period, shame-faced and handed the teacher their late slip. Mr. Newman had cheerfully threw the slip into the wastebasket and told them to take a seat.

Alanna and Raoul took their seats next to each near the front of the room, feeling their classmate's stares and did their best to concentrate on the lesson at hand. It only took them a minute to realize that they were totally lost, having missed Mr. Newman's earlier instructions.

"Phsst, Alan!" Raoul whispered to her.

"Mhmm?" Alanna was drawn out of her musings.

"Do you know what he's talking about?" He asked, gesturing at the whiteboard. Alanna shook her head and with a sigh, starting copying down the notes she knew she would need for later. Raoul, who sat beside her, looked off her paper as he scribbled down exactly what she was writing. Alanna doubted that he understood it more than she did.

"Ok!" Mr. Newman exclaimed as he finished his lecture. "Since you had that long project from me over the weekend, today I'll just be assigning you some bookwork. Page 50 to 55, questions 11 to 90. Due at the beginning of the next class."

"You're freaking kidding me!" Raoul's eyebrows shot up in surprise, disappearing into his dark bangs. The rest of the boys in the class turned to face Raoul in astonishment.

"I'm sorry?" Mr. Newman asked.

"How on Earth are we supposed to finish that?" Raoul exclaimed. Alanna stared at her lap, feeling slightly embarrassed for her friend.

"I expect you to finish it in time, in a neat and orderly manner." Mr. Newman answered jauntily. "Afterall, Conte d'Royale is not some second rate public school. No, we are the finest school in the nation. You can't honestly expect to pass without doing some work can you?"

Raoul's response was cut off as the obnoxious bell signaled the end of class. Alanna breathed a sigh of relief as the general noise and racket of backpack zipping, relieved chatter and scuffling chairs replaced the silence from before. Raoul was fuming as he rammed his notebook into his backpack.

"I can't believe it!" Raoul exclaimed once again as they left the classroom and joined the jostling mob of students in the hallway. "That's an insane amount of work! It's not even humanly possible to finish that, even if you worked for a few hours straight!"

Alanna simply shrugged her shoulders. "He's a teacher right? He can give us whatever he wants to give us."

"I know," Raoul muttered. "But still, life is so unfair."

"Indeed it is, my friend." Alex had caught up to them and clapped a hand to Raoul's shoulder. "You know what's also unfair? Wearing school uniforms." Raoul and Alanna sighed in unison.

"Yes, because we haven't heard enough of your rants about wearing uniforms." Raoul said sarcastically.

"Because it squishes your creativity levels," Alanna added.

"And it makes us into brainwashed sheeple,"

"Who can't think for themselves." Alanna finished. Alex pursed his lips together.

"You don't get it." He said flatly.

"No, and I don't think we ever will." Raoul shook his head. They approached the top of the staircase and from there, Alanna said good-bye to Alex and Raoul. She was headed towards gym class, something that wasn't as frightening as it used to be. And on the plus side the other boys had stopped giving her odd looks when she went to change in the bathroom stall.

Alanna sighed and let her hand slide down the marble banister as she descended the staircase. She had never figured out what Raoul had been doing in that supposedly empty room when she ran into him this morning. She forgot to ask him in class. Alanna wondered if he had been doing some kind of drugs. Hopefully not, she thought glumly. She wasn't quite sure if Jon had stopped smoking and that was enough to deal with.

The red-haired girl entered the raucous and wildly riotous locker room. Some of the boys were running after each other slapping each on the butt with towels or attempting to put each other in a headlock.

_Boys are so stupid, _Alanna shook her head and dialed the combination to her gym locker.

"Hey Trebond." Gary leaned against the locker next to her with a wide-grin. He was also missing his shirt. "So I heard you and Jon were late for class this morning. And you got detention!"

"Why are you so excited about it?" Alanna glared at him suspiciously as she pulled out her uniform and tried to not to stare at Gary's muscular and well-formed torso.

" 'Cause I got detention too!" Gary said brightly. "Isn't it going to be so much fun?"

Alanna slammed her locker door shut. "Sure because we all love to stay late in the evening and sit around in a room in dead silence for a few hours. Lovely."

Gary tussled her hair. "Lighten up Alan. It's not that bad." He quickly looked around and said with a more serious tone: "I think you should know that Ralon got transferred into this class."

"What the hell!" Alanna sputtered. She quick spun around. "Where is he?"

"I don't know, but hey listen, if he tries anything, just tell the coach or even better just stick with me and Jon that way-"

"That way what?" Alanna interrupted him.

Gary observed Alanna's glare and thought that it was best not to go ahead with what he originally planned to say.

"So that way he doesn't annoy you." He finished.

Alanna was about to retort when their coach walked in.

"Alright you sorry excuses for athletes! Less talking and more moving! Let's get out there and do some push-ups!"

* * *

Late that evening, Alanna and her friends stood impatiently around the doors to the fencing gymnasium, waiting for Headmaster Naxen to post the results for the fencing team. It had been a long and torturous wait for Alanna over the seemingly never ending weekend. She held in her breath and clenched her fists tightly, waiting anxiously. Finally, finally, Headmaster Naxen emerged. In his hand he held a single sheet of paper.

"In was with upmost consideration," He began. "With which I reviewed your skills that would qualify you for the fencing team. I'm sure you are all anxious to know so without further ado, I present to you the results." He tacked the paper onto the notice board, and left without a backwards glance. The boys swarmed at once to the board and Alanna elbowed and shoved her way to the front.

She looked up, her heart racing, eyes scanning that paper that would decide her fate. After a few seconds, it was in confusion that she re-read the notice for the fencing team. Surely there must be a mistake. Alanna searched the paper, three, four times more. Her heart thudding hard in her chest it was with dismay that she realized the horrible truth.

Her name was not on that paper. She was not on the team.

* * *

***Le gasp!* Cliffhanger! What will happen to Alanna?**

**So here's a review I just couldn't ignore from Eleonora's-Spirit: **

"I just read this whole story, which I guess says at least something, but I'm not sure whether I like it. Something about a modern-day Tortall just doesn't resonate with me. But the most off putting thing is this odd thing going on between Alanna and Jon. I have no problem with gay people, but the whole situation is just kind of bizarre and disconcerting. They're not really in love, they're just attracted to each other. And Jon hardly feels anything "deeper" for her, at least from his actions. Their whole relationship is kind of messed up in my mind. And even though it's present day so things have to be changed, both Alanna and Jonathan are waaaay different. I like the other characters though.  
But it seems like this gets a lot of positive reviews so maybe I'm the only one who doesn't like this so much.  
I think you're a good writer and I like your writing style, it's just that one relationship that messes it up for me."

**First off, I don't mean to embarrass you or trash you in any way. I'd like to point out that I was sick of reading the same type of stories, with the same predictable storyline over and over again on FanFiction. I wanted to write something that would take people by surprise, that nobody had done before. I mean, you've all read stories about how Alanna marries Jon, becomes Queen or that story about the mysterious girl that supposedly will save Tortall from destruction right? I'm definitely not saying they're bad ideas but I'd like to read a different type of story every once in a while. I like my story, other people like my story and that's good enough for me.**

**Secondly: I hate to burst your bubble but not all relationships are based on tender love. There are such things as people only physically attracted to each other. It can be good or bad but it exists. And sometimes that relationship can turn into love and companionship and not just pure lust. I'm a realist. I don't ignore something because I don't like it. **

**Lastly: We've all read Song of the Lioness and the other Tortall series. I think as fans, we should have the liberty to imagine whatever relationships we can come up with, whether they be conventional or not. It's our imagination that comes up with the face of a character based off an author's description. As a FanFiction author, I don't feel as if any ideas are stupid. Repetitive, yes but you never know which crazy story idea people will actually enjoy, such as my story here. I like the weird, bizarre and other wise unconventional.**

**So I hope I haven't offended you. It wasn't my intent but that's my reasoning behind this story. I do hope that any fans will forgive me for not updating sooner. I hope to update now on a more reasonable basis like once a week, considering how busy I am that's quite reasonable. Happy New Year ^^**


	14. Full of Surprises

**Yay! Chapter 13 is here! And it's only taken me 4 months to update! Sorry. I was busy with getting my college applications done, which, by the way, DON'T WAIT UNTIL THE LAST MINUTE TO DO IT! It all ended well for me and I will be going to the University of Mary Washington this fall. I'm excited ^^ **

**Ok to make up for the lost time, there's a bunch of stuff going on in this chapter. And some profane language. But seeing as this is an M-rated story I don't need to warn you. **

**This is dedicated to my dear reviewer Shazam who motivated me to finally update. For your enthusiasm I thank you XD **

* * *

"_She looked up, her heart racing, eyes scanning that paper that would decide her fate. After a few se__conds, it was in confusion that she re-read the notice for the fencing team. Surely there must be a mistake. Alanna searched the paper, three, four times more. Her heart thudding hard in her chest it was with dismay that she realized the horrible truth._

_Her name was not on that paper. She was not on the team."_

Alanna could not take the jostling of the other boys around her. She could not bear to turn to her friends, shame-faced, being the only one of them that had not made it onto the team. So instead, she squeezed her way past two boys, who in turn stepped up to where she previously stood.

"Alan!" Someone called out as she stalked down the hallway, away from the gym and the crowd of cheery congratulatory praising. She did not want to be there, among all of them, all the while pretending to belong to a gender that she was not. Alanna broke into a run as she turned the corner. Right now she didn't care where she was heading.

"Alan!" Someone called her fake name again. This time, Alanna realized that Jon was following her. He was the last person that she wanted to confront. Alanna quickened her pace into an all-out sprint, leaping down the stairs that would take her out of the school via one of the side entrances. She slammed against bar to open that door and stumbled out into the faded light of falling evening. The outside air was crisp and chilly with the forewarnings of colder weather. There were shouts of glee coming from the soccer field as a group of boys played an impromptu game. Besides the boys, the only other sounds were soft crickets hiding among the bushes. Alanna let the door slam shut behind her and walked at a brisk pace towards the green houses. It was still her favorite hiding place and after a month here she had not found a better place to spend time alone. It wasn't that often that she had a chance to retreat to her green sanctuary.

A bang startled her from behind as Jon staggered out the same door. He spun around wildly, looking for her.

"Alan! There you are!" He exclaimed. "What are you running off for?" Alanna glared at him and stalked away. Jon sighed heavily at his friend's stubbornness and trudged along to catch up to Alan.

"Go away Jon." Alanna irritably said. "This is none of your concern.'

"Of course it's my concern. You're upset and you're my friend. I want to know why."

"I thought you'd know by now." The red-haired girl spat over her shoulder.

"Know what?" Jon stopped in his tracks. Alanna spun on her heels to face him.

"You didn't read the notice?" She asked him bewilderedly.

Jon raised an eyebrow. "Not all of it."

"I'm, I'm not on the team." Alanna huffed and put her head down. Saying it out loud had a terrible effect as if now it became certain and set in stone. It was shameful too. She didn't want to look bad in front of Jon.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that I didn't get in!"

"What do you mean you didn't get in?" Jon exclaimed.

"I mean that I. Didn't. Get. Onto. The. Fencing. Team. You. Slow. Dimwit." Alanna accented each and every word hoping that her message would somehow come across to Jon. She turned her back to him once again. Her eyes filled with hot angry tears and she felt her cheeks turn characteristically red.

"Oh Alan!" Jon sighed. "I thought for sure you made it. There must be some kind of mistake."

Alanna sniffled and tried her best to keep her throat from choking up. "Obviously you were mistaken. Please I'm alright." Jon could not be turned away so easily (as she knew from experience). She heard his soft footsteps crunching over the gravel path as he approached her. He placed his hand on her shoulder and slowly tugged at her to turn around. Alanna hesitantly complied and looked up at Jon with wide violet eyes.

"Don't be so easily distressed by this." Jon murmured in a low voice.

"But this was what I was looking forward to since I got to this school." Alanna cried.

"Yes, but it's not the end of the world." Jon brushed his hand through her coppery red hair. "You still have a lot going for you. After the first semester there will be people dropping out and there will be a free spot for you."

"Oh great I'll be an afterthought addition to the team." Alanna grumbled.

Jon chuckled and folded his hands over her smaller ones. "Don't think of it that way." He contemplated his next words. "Although I don't know how you _didn't_ make it. What you did at the tryouts – well pure brilliance."

"I guess the Headmaster didn't think so." Silence followed. The boys had long since abandoned their game of soccer so there were no distracting background noises. Jon shifted from foot to foot, quite unsure of what to do with himself.

"So what are you going to do now?"

Alanna clenched Jon's hands. "I'll wait until semester time and then approach the Headmaster with as much dignity as I can."

A smile crept up onto Jon's face. "For a second there I thought you were going to scream and yell and run off. Then I'd have to run all over the campus looking for you only to have you punch me in the face when I did."

Alanna snorted. "Hey don't push your luck."

"I'm just saying that you're remarkably calm over this."

"Like I said," Alanna said in a flat, dangerous tone. "Don't push your luck."

Jon threw back his head and laughed. "Oh Alan! If only you knew how incredibly attractive I found you."

"You find me attractive?" Alanna asked incredulously. "Go screw yourself."

Jon grinned and ruffled her hair. "Of course you silly goose. What, you didn't think that I didn't find you at all attractive? I think I must have mentioned it before a few times."

With shame, Alanna looked down at her shoes. "There's just a goddamn lot that you don't know about me. Doesn't that make you uneasy?"

"All I know about you is that you love fencing, you're stubborn, courageous, a little-over achieving and," he paused for added effect and leaned in to whisper in her ear. "You have a cute ass."

"Jon!" Alanna ripped her hands from Jon's grip and slapped him on his shoulder. The boy only giggled and shook his head.

"It's true!" Jon said in his defense. "Have you ever looked back into a mirror to check it out? I mean it's so cute and firm."

"Enough!" Alanna glanced around hurriedly. Trees covered them from view if anyone happened to be looking out from the school but there could always be someone lurking behind a tree. It wouldn't do well for someone to overhear Jon complimenting her ass like this.

"Oh don't be like that." Jon moaned. "You're taking all the fun away."

Alanna raised her hands into the air in disbelief and sighed with exaggerated exasperation. She turned to go back into the school, and up to her dorm room when Jon decided to grab her around the waist from behind.

"Where are you going?" He whispered seductively in her ear.

Alanna squirmed in his grasp. "I want to go back to the room."

"Umm, nope." Jon all but practically dragged her into a more secluded patch off from the gravel path amongst the trees. "It's so much more fun out here with me." Any further protest from the girl was cut off as Jon kissed her. It was heavy, hot and filled with lust. Alanna's eyes widened and pushed back.

"You asshole! Someone can walk by any moment!" she hissed.

"Or no one will come at all." Jon panted. He grabbed the younger girl's hand and pulled her towards him once again. Alanna ceased to resist, to care, to even think of the consequences if someone were to suddenly appear. She only thought of Jon's hot lips against her. She shivered in delight as Jon's tongue entered her mouth. He grabbed her upper arms, then slide his hands down the lengths of her arms to encircle her slim waist. Alanna involuntarily moaned. Already she felt Jon harden against her lower stomach.

_What'll he think when he doesn't feel __**me**__? _An unwilling thought popped into her head.

For the third time that day, the side entrance of the school opened with a bang. Jon and Alanna broke apart as if the gods themselves had dragged them from each other. With no time to waste, they quickly stumbled over themselves as they shrunk down behind a clump of holly bushes. A small group of boys ran out with a whoot, laughing and boasting loudly. One of them kicked a soccer ball as he passed Jon and Alanna's hiding spot. The rest followed as they seemingly went their way to the vacant soccer field. Alanna's heart felt as if it had dropped down to her stomach and she was afraid to breathe even a tiny bit as the boys ran further down the gravel path.

Beside her, Jon was in a similar trance. Although his body was perfectly still, he followed the sounds of the boys with his cool, blue eyes. A slow steady gust of wind rustled the leaves above them and shook the tree branches just out of reach above them. Alanna crunched down even further, shivering now from the wind as it brought goose bumps to her skin, even while wearing her school blazer.

Only when no sound was to be heard except the still rustling leaves and the resumed and muted chirp of crickets did Jon and Alanna cautiously stir from hiding. Alanna's heart raced faster than before. Jon looked up and down the length of the path before he waved to Alanna that the coast was clear.

"That was freaking close." Jon wiped his now sweaty palms on his pants. "Too close."

"I told you!" Alanna reminded the older boy. "But no, someone had to have his way."

"I didn't hear you complaining." He thought for a moment. "Well not very much."

Alanna slapped him on his shoulder once again. Jon took a reproving step back and put up his hands.

"Don't kill me. Don't kill me. Don't kill me." He pleaded. Alanna approached him, a vicious look in her eyes. However her attack was interrupted by a ping from Jon's cell phone.

"Ooo! It's from Gary! '_Where are you?'" _Jon read aloud. "Oh shit!" He stared at Alanna wide-eyed. "Alan, we have detention tonight!" Alanna squealed and slapped Jon again before grabbing his wrist and hauling him off to the detention hall.

* * *

With Alan still fuming at him for being late to detention and for almost getting caught, Jon knew there would be no chance of any romantic endeavors . Goddamn that boy drove him mad! Not a day went by since they first met each other that Jon hadn't thought of the red-haired boy. He was so…mysterious. Jon couldn't quite describe what it was but it drove him absolutely, positively mad!

And that heated kiss in that evening…so hot.

* * *

As fencing practice every day after school, Alanna found herself quite lonely. All her friends had practice, even Douglass whom she had defeated in the tryouts. She couldn't understand why she hadn't gotten the position that she wanted. If Duke Naxen had let Douglass on the time, then he _had _to let Alanna on the team. It had been an awkward conversation the next morning when Raoul had asked her if she was looking forward to practice after school. She was sure that people sitting at the tables ten feet away could have felt the heat rise off her cheeks as she mumbled "No." and dug into her eggs with vigor. She failed to miss the uneasy glance that Raoul shared with Gary and Alex. Gary had opened his mouth to say something but at that moment Jon hugely exaggerated a yawn and elbowed Gary in his face. Classes were a drag that day, and all of that week. Even gym was boring instead of the torture it had been before.

Even Ralon, her bully, seemed perfectly content with doing nothing. Alanna caught him glancing at her during gym and then turning away to laugh with his friends. What she wouldn't give to find out what Ralon was saying about her behind her back! She shook her head at herself and reprimanded herself. Maybe Ralon wasn't saying anything at all. It could be all in her head although she doubted it.

With nothing else to do except visit the vast library and greenhouses, Alanna texted George more and more often. She found that he was quite witty, clever and knowledgeable of everything and everyone of importance in the city of Corus. Alanna agreed to come to the city that Saturday, as she blessedly received no homework for the weekend. The rest of the week passed in a blur. Jon made no advances on her again besides an peck before bed or a small hug. Both of them were too tired or busy to think of it.

Friday evening came around and Alanna walked with Jon downstairs after the final bell rung, signaling the end of the classes for the day.

"Beloved Friday you couldn't have come soon enough!" Jon lamented. He winced as he stretched out his shoulder. "Ouch!"

"Hmm?" Alanna wondered.

Jon rubbed his shoulder gingerly. "Duke Naxen is making us do all sorts of exercise. We haven't picked up a foil at all!"

"I'm sure he's not going to let a bunch of out of shape boys run around with swords." Alanna pointed out. "Half of those people haven't done any serious exercise since summer break."

"Ha! Always the rational one aren't we?" Jon tussled her hair and gave her a quick wink before he took the staircase to the gym. With a heavy heart, Alanna decided to grab a tennis racket and go outside, before she went completely mad with not doing anything.

As it turned out tennis helped relieve some of the anxiety she had been feeling all week. Fresh air, some competition and a good work-out was sometimes all she needed to relax. She shook hands with the sophomore she had been playing against and went straight up to her room. During the course of the match there had been a growing pain in her abdomen. It got progressively worse until she purposely missed a few balls just so the match would be over quicker. Her competitive side hated her for it. She staggered into her dorm room and dropped her racket into a corner along with her sneakers. The pain was even worse after going up the stairs.

_Egh! What did I do? _Alanna wondered. _I know. I'll take a hot shower, go to bed and if I'm not better tomorrow morning I'll go the nurse._ She didn't even hear Jon as he came to the room later.

Thankfully for Jon, she missed the reek of cigarettes on him.

* * *

Pain.

Alanna scrunched into a ball and clenched her legs together.

_Ow!_ She silently sobbed. Her stomach hurt even more than last evening. Her lower back ached and the spot between her legs was aching as well. _No! _Alanna reached between her legs. It was completely wet.

_Mother-fucker._ Alanna's mind whirled as she tried to figure out what to do. She opened her sleep-heavy eyes and looked at her alarm clock. It's digital number announced the time as 3:30 in the morning. Alanna let out a little moan and felt tears start to form. Of all the things to give her away it had to be her period didn't it? There was no way she could hide her pads and tampons from Jon. She couldn't change them out in the boys bathroom. She couldn't throw them away in any trashcan around the school.

Then it hit her like a lightning bolt. She hadn't even packed any, she suddenly remembered. What should she do?

* * *

4:00 am and Alanna speed down the road leading from Conte d'Royale to Corus. She rode a sleek black Yamaha FZ8, borrowed without permission from the school garages. As to why the school would feel a need to own a Yamaha motorbike, Alanna had no idea but she was thankful for it. After fiddling with a few locks and a few painstakingly, heart-throbbing scary moments she was off to see George at the Dancing Dove. She raced along the silent road, her headlights sweeping aside the dark. Twinkling above her were bright stars, arranged in fabulous constellations and were her only company on the lonely road. She reached the outskirts of the city and slowed down a bit, not wanting to get caught by a speeding camera or worse, a cop.

Alanna pulled up to the Dancing Dove as the first grey hint of light flirted along the eastern horizon. The last of the night's drunkards were hobbling home and some had even passed out in parking lot outside the night club. It was with unease that Alanna dismounted and removed her helmet. The Dancing Dove, while being a center of importance to the underground of the city, was not in the best of neighborhoods. During the day this part was pretty safe however in the pre-dawn morning, Alanna felt exposed and apprehensive. She secured her bike and approached the door. She knocked once softly, then more vigorously.

The same man who she met the first time she came here opened the door.

"Get lost kid." He growled. "We don't open til morning."

"Well it's morning now." Alanna retorted against her better judgment. She slapped herself mentally.

"You wanna screw around with me?" The man cocked an eyebrow and cracked his knuckles.

Thinking quickly, Alanna blurted out: "I'm here to see George Cooper!"

The bouncer looked confused for a moment. He wasn't sure what to make of this short boy wandering up to a nightclub doorway at this dangerous hour. He had to hand it to the kid, he had balls. The bouncer waved Alanna in. After all, how much trouble could this little pipsqueak cause?

"Up the stairs at the end of the hallway behind the bar. Take a right at the top of that landing." The bouncer muttered. "And I don't want no trouble."

Alanna hopped over sleeping patrons, empty bottles and a few patrons who were still awake. She felt herself shaking as she climbed up the dingy, narrow staircase lit only by a low blue light. Surely there would have been a better way to handle this. She could have told Corum instead of running off like she was on an adventure. She found George's room, marked by the Dancing Dove symbol and his initials carved underneath. She knocked on his door.

"George open up! It's Alan!" She said in a loud whisper. Hearing nothing within, she repeated herself, only louder. Giving up, she grabbed the doorknob and went into the room, closing the door behind her. It was completely dark in here and she fumbled for a light switch.

"Didn't yer mother ever tell yer it'd be rude to com'n uninvited?" George growled. Alanna felt a knifepoint pressed up against her neck.

"George its me! Alan!" She squeaked.

"Alan?" George sounded drunk, sleepy and astonished. "Lad! What in blazes…" Light filled the room and Alanna squinted against the brightness. The first thing that she noticed was that George was completely and totally naked. Incredibly toned from years of sneaking and working out, he had a muscular yet slim build. Also, Alanna blushed, between his legs, well, he was well endowed.

"Put some pants on." Alanna choked out. She turned away and sat down in an armchair and put her face into hands. This had gotten way out of control. She should have stayed at school instead of going off during this un-godly hour. Headmaster Naxen would surely rip out her heart for this. She couldn't imagine the number of rules and protocols and regulations that she was breaking right now.

"Alan what's the matter wit' yer? Are yer sick?" George coming striding up to her in all of his glorious nakedness. Alanna couldn't look away from George's bare body. "Did somethin' happen up ther' at the school?" His hazel eyes gleamed with concern.

"No George, nothing happened." Alanna didn't know how to tell him this. "I really need your help."

"What then!" George knelt and put his hands on her shoulders. "Just tell me already lad!" His naked body was not helping her concentrate at all.

_Might as well just blurt it out._ Alanna thought. "George, I'm, I am…I'm actually a girl!"

* * *

**I apologize profusely for not updating sooner and hope to have the next chapter put up by Thursday. I also hope I haven't lost all my readers and reviewers. I would be incredibly sad. Sorry if this is isn't the best quality.**

**Since I love to babble in these author notes here's more of some semi-important info: I hate myself for not updating. It takes me more energy and will-power to sit down in front of a computer than it does to write. Once I start, the words just come together. I was honestly really busy. I'm trying to sort life together, college, boyfriend, stupid friends, work, etc. (Btw, my boyfriend is quite attractive XD)**

**Like always, I get so caught up in the details that it takes a few chapters to get through one event. 13 chapters later and she's only been at the school a month. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with this story. I don't know what are your thoughts? How should I end it? I will continue but I kinda need some direction. **


	15. Mischief and Foreboding

**Wooo! A few days later and here's Chapter 14! And I don't think I do George's accent any justice by the terrible way I write it out so I'll write his lines normally now; just imagine his cocky accent. **

**And Shazam, here's another chapter dedicated to you.**

* * *

"_What then!" George knelt and put his hands on her shoulders. "Just tell me already lad!" His naked body was not helping her concentrate at all._

_Might as well just blurt it out. Alanna thought. "George, I'm, I am…I'm actually a girl!"_

George's eye twitched slightly. "Say what lad?"

"Stop calling me lad!" Alanna said irritably. "I'm a girl! Do I have to undress myself and show you?"

George blinked several times and sucked in his breath. "No lad, er lass, I don't think that'd be necessary." The light in his room wasn't as harsh as it had been to her eyes moments before. Alanna folded her hands into her lap, trying to calm herself. George sat back hard on the floor, struggling to comprehend through his sleepy drunkenness. In this position, George showed off his private wonders to all the world.

"I suppose I'd, err, find my pants." He added awkwardly. Alanna cast down her eyes and felt her cheeks flush yet again. She heard sounds of George rustling around and the short _zip! _as he fastened up his jeans. Another rustle of cloth; this would be his shirt, hopefully. George, now fully clothed, came back to where Alanna still sat in the armchair.

He ran his hands through his tussled brown hair and stood in front of Alanna, unsure of whether to sit. In the end, he sat on the floor, most likely his drunken state made it hard to stand. "So…where are your breasts?" George asked.

"What?" Alanna all but practically squeaked.

"You know," George gestured in front of his own chest. "Every woman has them, even really small ones count."

"I'm glad you have your priorities straight." Said Alanna as she flicked George the middle finger.

The young man attempted to look stern as he put his hands on his hips, but he looked more like a court Jester than anything else. "Hey none of that now! I'm trying to help you." He swayed slightly side to side. "So what is your real name?"

"Alanna." She answered.

"Alan, Alanna…" The corners of George's mouth crept upwards into a grin. He suddenly threw back his head and let out a bark of laughter. "Oh lass, I should have seen it before. The way you laugh and act should have given you away. And then you kept your distance from others. Ha! And you're short." Alanna scowled. "No accept it, you're short. Plus your looks: your cheekbones too high, skin too flushed, and you're too slender to pass fully as a boy once you spot it."

"Thank you George, for doing a complete analysis of all my attributes." Alanna sighed blithely. "Look I really need your help."

"Of course lass. But it seems you'll be owing me a few favors to after this." Alanna looked up at George aghast. "What? My silence in return for a few, ah, errands."

"I'm not a delivery service!"

"I'm only joking!" George patted her shoulder reprimandedly. "As bizarre as this whole mess is, I guess my questions are going to wait. Now what'd you come running down here for at such an peculiar hour?" Alanna was sure George was trying o be serious. It was hard to tell through his slurred drunkenness.

Now that her question had been addressed, Alanna was at a loss as to how she could explain to George what she needed. At first it seemed like an excellent idea. Now she thought that this was the stupidest thing she had ever done. _Oh yes I'm on my period George. Do you happen to have any extra tampons on hand? _So how did she explain?

"Do you have any…" The rest of her sentence was a hurried jumble.

"I can't help you if I don't know what you need." George said with all the genuine patience in the world.

"Do you have any feminine hygiene products?" Instead of George, Alanna stared up at the ceiling, ignoring the violent blush of her cheeks. Beside her, George tapped his fingertips lightly against his legs.

"You charged out of the school at 4 am for…tampons?" The way he said it might have suggested that he thought Alanna totally insane.

"Its not as stupid as it sounds!" Alanna said in defense. "How I am supposed to find tampons in an all-boys school?"

The young Rouge scratched his chin. "That's quite a *hiccup* problem there. Excuse me." He said in response to his hiccup. With little time that George was going to be awake before he fell asleep again, Alanna knew she needed to hurry.

"George please just fucking find something." She pleaded. She was ready to kick him in the crotch if needed. George leaned backwards for a moment, then rolled onto his back. The Rouge flipped over onto his stomach and slowly but surely crawled out of the room. At this point in time, it would be totally bizarre to her if something normal happened.

George's room was a decent size. He had hung numerous posters on the walls, among them being Daft Punk, Marilyn Manson, Depoche Mode, Dope and even Alanna's beloved Metallica had a poster above George's bed. Alongside one wall there was a king-sized bed with muddled up blankets from which George had rolled out of them. Two small nightstands stood on either side of the bed. On the opposite wall, a flat screen TV was mounted on the wall above a dresser on which multiple game consoles and assorted games were sitting. On the far side of the room away from Alanna, there stood a huge stereo system, and quite expensive, an item that Alanna wouldn't be surprised to find in Jon, Gary or Raoul's home. In fact, it was a little too expensive for George to own. And that brand new PS3 under the TV surely wasn't something George could afford if he had bought a flat-screen and a huge stereo system that was large enough to support a Heavy Metal concert.

The door to George's room opened and George sauntered in with as much balance as a heat-stricken, sea-sick, rum-guzzling Jack Sparrow. "I found something in one my friend's bathroom!" He waved a box of tampons in the air.

Alanna sprung up from the armchair and snatched it out of George's hand. "Thank Mithros!"

"You could be a little bit more thankful than that." George observed. Without hesitation, Alanna flung her arms around him. He smelled of the remnants of clean soap, a strong mixture of alcohol and the lingering scent of tobacco. She decided that she liked this Roguish smell, unlike Jon who smelled of expensive cologne. Uh, where did that thought come from?

Alanna pulled away with regret and looked up into George's twinkling hazel eyes. "Thank you for everything. You have no idea how much this means to me."

George grinned and pulled her back into another hug. "Anything, anytime lass. Of course I supposed I'm that only one that knows your secret now." Alanna nodded into his chest. "So it's best if you get back up to school before everyone else wakes up. And I'll call you later at a decent time. This whole gender issue hasn't been resolved."

* * *

Headmaster Naxen's lecture on the implications of sneaking out in pitch darkness to the city for no apparent reason was impressive. Alanna was captured by the flow, the artistry and fluid continuation of his speech. It was of course said in nothing but a manner of fact tone with no hint of displeasure or anger on the Headmaster's part. After running a prestigious high school and dealing with troublesome boys, Alanna was sure that Duke Naxen had seen it all and she was nothing more than another mis-behaving boy. Or, rather someone masquerading as a boy but the details weren't important. She was confined to the school for the weekends for the next month and given Saturday detention for two weeks. However, her early morning trip into the city hadn't been a total waste. She had emerged victorious and it was with satisfaction that she in front of the Headmaster with her box of tampons.

October had barely started when it seemed to fly by in a rush. With detention, her ever-mounting work load and with Jon's fencing practices and meets, Alanna hardly ever saw her roommate outside of class or dinner. Sure she sometimes heard him snoring away in the night but it wasn't the same as being able to hold him, or kiss him. Even though she knew it was a bad idea, keeping up this lie, she could not help herself. That boy was addictable.

* * *

"Don't you just fucking love it when you buy a bag of air and find chips inside?" Raoul looked forlornly at the few chips at the bottom of his Lays Chips bag. "I mean that's total corporate generosity."

"It's a conspiracy theory." Alex said sternly. "You already know that there's not very many chips inside so you have to buy more to get full. Thus the CEOs make buttloads of money off of hungry students."

"I swear to Mithros and the Divines, Alex," Gary half sputtered through his mashed potatoes. Not everything is a conspiracy theory!"

Alex slammed down his spoon onto the table with such force that Alanna watched her brim-full glass of Sprite slosh some of the beverage onto the table. "Ok when I want to go buy a bag of chips I want there to be mostly chips instead, not air."

"Hear hear!" Raoul heartedly agreed. Meanwhile, Jon shook his head in disbelief and muttered something about "…stuck with lunatics…" and continued stuffing his mouth with pasta.

"Someday," Alex gestured broadly. "When I become CEO of Lays Chips I will make sure that students no longer will go hungry by, Mhf!" His future plans were cut off by Alanna, who stuffed a dinner roll into his mouth.

"Alex, listening to your conspiracy theories is as appealing as playing leapfrog with unicorns." The whole table burst out in fits of laughter. Alex glowered at Alanna from across the table, roll still stuck in his mouth. Gary was unable to contain his glee and pounded at the table while Jon's eyes streamed and pasta spilled from his mouth. Both Francis and Douglass were turning an unhealthy shade of red while in total hysterics. Overall, it was uncontrollable chaos.

* * *

A cluster of boys stood in the main hall that morning as Alanna and Jon rushed down to breakfast, a sleepy Raoul in tow. The gathered boys were talking eagerly and it was obvious that something important had just happened.

"Oh Jon!" One of them, a boy with mahogany hair, called over to the Conte boy.

"What's up Eric?" Jon asked the other boy without much enthusiasm.

"Haven't you heard the news already?" Eric asked excitedly. Alanna guessed that he might piss his pants soon if he didn't tell Jon whatever news he had.

"Apparently the Headmaster wanted to get another fencing coach 'cause you know, he's not as young as he once was, and eh, I guess they needed another teacher for gym so they found someone! Jon you'll never believe who it is!"

"Alright!" Jon was clearly impatient now. "Who the hell is it?"

"Well it's your cousin!" Eric exclaimed. "Duke Roger of Conte is coming to our school!"

The name sent shivers down Alanna's back. "Duke….Roger of Conte…" A sense of ill foreboding filled her slight body.

* * *

**Due to unforeseeable events, I am posting today instead of yesterday. And its short -_- oh well Thank you Shazam I decided to introduce Roger a little earlier than I thought. And also thank you Shazam for kindly reminded me that people actually do want to continue reading so I will do my best to continue updating, as slow and tedious as it may be! Now Review, review, review! (Pssst! I see everyone who adds this to their story alert list but doesn't review XD )**


	16. Festival of the Dead Part I

Eric attempted to blabber on about Duke Roger, however Jon promptly ignored Eric and waved off the boy as he continued walking to the dining hall. Alanna hurried after him without a backwards glance at Eric. The thought of Roger of Conté bothered her more than it normally should. In fact, a name shouldn't even bother her at all. She had met many people during her lifetime but still, there was this sudden irksome feeling that she would have a hard time shaking off. But, he was part of the Conté family, a noble family who had contributed much to the country, so surely Duke Roger wasn't that bad? Alanna gave a mental shrug; she would wait to meet this cousin of Jon's and then form her opinions from then on.

Alanna got in line for food behind Jon with Raoul next to her. Like always, it seemed that he hadn't managed to muster up the energy to tie his tie properly. She heaped eggs, breakfast sausage and a cinnamon roll onto her plate and balanced a cup of tea on her tray. She was surprised to find their usual table empty.

"Looks like we're a bit early today." Jon said cheerfully. "Ah what a nice, quiet breakfast this is going to be."

"Keep dreaming Conté," Alex drawled. He set his tray down in his usual spot across from Alanna. "You don't honestly believe you can have a quiet meal here?" Jon scowled. "This is your third year here. You should know better."

Alanna giggled. She loved listening to the slight teasing of the boys. It so reminded her of the conversations between her and Thom. It was with a hint of guilt that she remembered she hadn't called him in a while. She missed her twin so much. Even though there were some major personality differences between them, no one understood her better than Thom.

Gary, Douglass and small quiet Francis arrived; Gary of course, was already running his mouth.

"Have you heard the news?"

"No, but whatever it is I'm sure you'll tell us soon enough." Alex rolled his eyes.

"Ha, ha, ha." Gary said with forced patience. "You're so clever Alex. Anyway, you'll never believe who's coming to our school! Duke Roger of Conté!" This perked all the boys' interest, except of course Jon and Alanna who heard it already. "He's going to be an assistant coach of the fencing team and he's going to be the new gym teacher."

"Such a man as Duke Roger is going to be a gym teacher?" Douglass asked in disbelief. "Such a waste of talent."

Alanna just had to ask. "Why? What has he done?" Everyone immediately stopped what they were doing to stare at Alanna.

"I knew Trebond was a long way from the Capital, Alan but I didn't know it was isolated from the rest of world." Gary teased.

"Jeez, sorry for asking." Alanna huffed.

"I'm offended that you don't know about my family." Jon grumbled.

"Oh shut up you."

"Well in answer to your question," Douglass was kind enough to go ahead and explain. "Duke Roger had made numerous contributions to the medical and scientific fields over the last decade, ever since he was in college. He's won top prestigious awards for his work and a few years ago he made a vaccine for the Sweating Fever which is one of the deadliest diseases in Tortall. He is also a world champion fencer and allegedly won a match against the prince of the Yamani Islands. Sometimes he serves as an ambassador to Galla."

"And I'm related to this wonderful man!" Jon exclaimed as he stood up and put his hand over his heart.

"Yeah by accident of birth." Raoul rolled his eyes. "Shut up and sit down." Jon looked crestfallen and resumed eating his cereal.

"So why is he coming to be a teacher of all things?" Alanna asked a little confused.

"Who knows! Who cares!" Gary exclaimed. "We're going to have the opportunity to finally meet him and learn from him! I hope he decides to make his position here a permanent one."

"I'd love if he'd stay here long enough to teach through my senior year." Douglass said dreamily.

"Eh guys," Alanna interrupted the boys fawning over this man. "He's going to be a gym teacher."

"And our fencing coach!" Raoul exclaimed violently. "You can't forget that bit of awesomeness! It's going to be amazing for all of us to study under him." He saw Alanna look away. "Oh I'm sorry Alan." He added in a hurry. "I forgot, that you know, umm, aren't on the team."

"Yeah yeah." Alanna shrugged it off with indifference. She had become used to this over the past weeks since she hadn't made the team.

"So tomorrow is Saturday." Alex announced.

"Yes, thank you Alex. I would have never known the days of the week without you around." Jon said sarcastically.

Alex flicked Jon the finger and went on. "And it's also the Festival of the Dead."

"Are we going to the city?" Raoul asked.

"Of course!" Alex scoffed. "Not unless you want to be stuck with all the freshmen at the 'dance' that the school hosts. No offense to freshmen." He nodded towards Alanna and Francis. "But there's nothing else to do tomorrow evening."

"Nothing interesting." Jon added. "I suppose we'll need costumes. I'll see to that."

"Where on earth are going to get costumes?" Alanna wondered.

"Well dear Alan, I know people in high places."

Alanna rolled her eyes. "It's a bunch of costumes, not anything illegal."

"Let him think he's important." Raoul whispered into her ear. Alanna giggled.

"Hey!" Jon exclaimed. "What'd you say?"

* * *

Classes were nothing but a boring blur that day. With the whole school buzzing about the Festival of the Dead, teachers gave up on teaching and let the students talk or do absolutely nothing in class. Even gym wasn't that bad, Alanna had to admit. They didn't have a strenuous work-out like they always had and instead, the coach let them play dodge ball the entire period. Alanna couldn't remember the last time that she had so much fun in gym. After equestrian class had ended, Alanna's final class of the day, she and Jon had waved off their friend's offer to go to the pool for a quick swim. Instead, she had wanted to go up to their room to get a first peek of the costumes that Jon had ordered to be sent up from the city that morning, in preparation for the Festival of the Dead celebrations that they were to attend the next day. And the fact that she couldn't possibly appear before the boys in her swimsuit, she decided sorting through costumes was a safer course of action.

The afternoon sunlight streamed through the high, stained glass windows of the school. The atmosphere was calm and relaxing, no one bothering neither Jon nor Alanna as they went through the main hallway. All of a sudden, Jon ducked into a bathroom and Alanna followed suite, unsuspicious and unawares. Jon looked under the stalls and finding no one, dragged Alanna into an empty stall at the far end of the bathroom. He promptly locked it. He kissed her softly on the lips, quite the opposite from the passion he had exhibited weeks ago.

"I missed you." He whispered, looking into her violet eyes.

"Ever the romantic aren't we?" Alanna mocked him in a whisper, although there was no one it the bathroom besides the two of them. "We've seen each other every day Jon. We even sleep in the same room."

"You know what I mean." Said the blue-eyed boy. He ran a gentle finger down alongside her cheek. "I've barely had any time to actually speak to you. I'm always at practice and then it's homework, homework, homework and sleep."

"I don't make the rules." She breathed. "And I'm miserable with the ones we're following right now.""

"Then we should make our own rules." Jon murmured. Further conversation was cut off as Jon pressed his lips firmly against Alanna's. She tensed up, ready to push him away if things got too heated. Instead, this kiss was gentle, compassionate and calming. Alanna just about melted as she returned Jon's soft kisses, no trace of wild enticing passion overtaking them. With soft desire, her arms slithered up Jon's muscular chest to link her hands behind his neck. Jon sighed and his arms wrapped around her back, warm and protecting. He leaned his head further down and Alanna stood higher on her toes to deepen their sweet kiss. Such melodiousness Jon had never shown before. It had been only lust on either one of them parts yet here they stood, unaware by how much their affection and fondness had grown for each other over the weeks. Their lips moved in perfect unison, with no hint of impatience or the burning want for something more.

Jon pecked her lips once more and drew slightly back, his sapphire eyes meeting the violet ones of the one he craved. He leaned his forehead against Alanna's and closed his eyes. She stood in his embrace, his body a shield from the rest of world and its troublesome cares. Nothing else mattered now, except this small moment that they had to themselves. Alanna breathed in the husky scent of Jon's expensive cologne, the one she teased him often of wearing but secretly could not get enough of. In the silence of the bathroom, removed from the bustling of the hallways outside, she could hear each small intake of breath that Jon took. The movements of his breathing no longer just became a requirement for life, but rather a sensuous movement that only she could secretly observe. The quickened rise and fall were the only tell-tale sign of Jon's aroused feelings for her.

Alanna unlinked her hands and slowly drew her fingertips alongside Jon's neck, a caress that sent a small shudder down throughout the boy's body. She didn't stop there, going lower to stroke Jon's chest and let her slender hands rest there. Jon opened his eyes, taking note of Alanna's hands. He slowly massaged her back, making his way up her spine, to her shoulder blades, to her lower neck. Alanna moaned in slight pleasure, loving the gentle pressuring of his massage.

Wordlessly, their lips met again.

Alanna and Jon froze when the bathroom door flew open, neither of them having heard the boys approaching in the hallway. There were about five or six in the group that had just walked in. Alanna gestured helplessly at Jon for him to do something. Jon mouthed "I don't know" and shook his head. Then, making a spilt second decision, he pointed at the toilet. Alanna held her hands up in confusion as Jon made some sort of standing motion with his hands. Not quite understanding him, Alanna looked at him with a panicked, confused look. Seeing that making Alanna understand was going to be hopeless, he picked her around the waist stood her on the toilet seat, so that there would only be one pair of feet under the stall.

Alanna stood awkwardly balanced on the toilet seat, praying to the gods that she wouldn't fall in as the boys relieved themselves. She held onto Jon's shoulders for support as he held her in place with his hands firmly on her hips. She was aware of the provocative position they were in, her pelvis area nearly level with Jon's face. If he even decided to come closer…

The thought made her loose balance and slip. She let out a small sound, not loud enough to make a commotion, but loud enough that the other boys would notice.

"Hey are you alright in there?" Alanna immediately recognized the boy as Eric, who they had just talked to that morning.

"Uh, yeah," Jon sputtered. "I'm perfectly fine. Nothing is wrong." Had Alanna been standing outside the stall, she wouldn't have bought Jon's poor lie. She held in her breath as Eric paused for a moment, and then said, "Ok no problem!" Alanna noted his receding footsteps along with the rest of the boys, and did not exhale in the first time for what felt like torturous hours until the bathroom door slammed shut behind Eric and his friends. Jon too, breathed out and let her down back onto the ground.

"That was close." Jon rasped. He might as well have just run a couple of miles around the school from his staggered breathing.

"Yes I know." Alanna shuffled her feet. "We really should talk about when it's appropriate to go around kissing in the school."

"Want to go back to the room?"

Alanna shot him an evil look that made him cower against the stall door. "Only if you promise me no more kissing until we sort this out?"

* * *

Usually on Saturdays for the past month, Alanna had been used to having her dorm room entirely to herself while Jon was on a tournament with the fencing team. She had enjoyed the peace and quiet, and instead of doing something constructive, had wiled her time away playing Skyrim. This particular Saturday, it was not to be. She eyed the video game with longing like a chocolate addict might look at a chocolate cake as her friends bounced around her room, wrapped up in random pieces of varying costumes. Gary had found a blue bobbed wig and a hula shirt and was doing the can-can with a cape-wearing, Phantom-of-the-Opera-dressed-up Raoul. Alex was arguing viciously with Douglass over which one of them should wear the red Power Ranger outfit, and Jon was trying to wrestle a pirate's hat away from Francis.

Alanna sat on her bed cross-legged, a little island of sanity away from the ensuing chaos that had erupted in her room. They were planning to leave at 5 that evening in order to beat the traffic that would surely be leading into the city as many people would be traveling from all over the surrounding countryside to come to Corus for the Festival of the Dead celebrations. First on their schedule was to find a rave club that would admit under-age schoolboys without too many questions. Alanna had briefly considered telling them of the Dancing Dove, but decided against it, leaving it to remain her secret. Besides, after the tampon episode, she doubted that she could come face to face with George, while in some ridiculous costume that Gary would surely force her into.

Francis had only smiled when he was bombarded with questions as to why he wasn't coming into the city that night. He only answered that he really did not like the idea of partying and preferred to spend time at whatever event the school had planned for the students not going to Corus for the evening. He wished everyone a good-night as he left the room.

In the end, when everyone had calmed down and Gary and Raoul had stopped dancing, they determined their outfits for the evening. Alex, unsurprisingly, had opted for an all-black Grim Reaper robe with a scythe as an accessory; Gary as Darth Vader, minus the mask; Raoul had found a Thor costume at the bottom of the box and was excitedly decked out in the Norse god, Avenger's outfit, complete with a hammer, albeit everything was made of plastic; Douglass had gone with a more dramatic Glam Rocker with five inch platform boots and finally Jon had decided on a roguish, swashbuckling pirate. Alanna had gone through everything but neither could not find anything she liked or anything that would hide her gender.

_Ugh! _She thought with a grimace. She was going through the box for what seemed like the hundredth time. _There's nothing! _Thinking she might get away with just her school uniform and going as a schoolboy, she grabbed her wallet, ready to go. Of course, Raoul noticed the absurdity.

"It's the Festival of the Dead!" He exclaimed as if she had never heard of it before. "You're supposed to dress up! It's tradition!"

"So what?" Alanna huffed, folding her arms across her chest. "I'm not one much for tradition anyway."

"Look Alan," This was now Gary. "You have to dress up. It's not even just tradition. It's a straight up rule."

"Then we should make our own rules." Alanna retorted. Jon looked up at this, meeting her eye and smiling knowingly, having said the same words to her that afternoon. The memory of that sweet kiss lingered on her lips and made her want more of what Jon had given her: not lusty abandonment, but true affection.

"How about this?" Gary held up something red with lace trim. Alanna's jaw practically fell open to the ground.

Raoul roared with laughter and Alex jumped to his feet clapping, yelling, "It's perfect!"

"Come on Alan," Gary said in a pedophile voice. "It's perfect for you."

"That's, that's…" Alanna stammered. "That's a girl's costume! I can't wear that!"

"Oh yes you can!" Jon grabbed her from behind and lifted her up for the second time that day. He forcefully carried her over to where Gary was waiting with the red garment. "I'd love to see you in that." He whispered in her ear, only for her to hear.

"I know _you_ want to see me in that." Alanna mumbled under her breath. She struggled but to no avail. The boys were intent on coercing her into the costume, no matter how much of a fight she put up. She put a stop to it when Gary held her arms behind her back and Jon had started unbuttoning the buttons to her school shirt. She had nearly gone insane and grabbed the dreaded red dress with the lace trim and dove into the security of her bathroom, locking the door firmly behind her. Alanna could hear the laughing coming from the other side of the door, her friends obviously looking forward to seeing her in a dress. Alanna scowled, knowing that the night would only end in disaster unless she stayed safely within school walls, an option that was not available to her while Jon and Gary still drew breath. She'd have to single-headedly kill them all to avoid wearing this, this thing!

She couldn't believe Jon had come so close! And he had started unbuttoning from the bottom, having to first untuck her shirt from her pants. It was a miracle that Jon hadn't tried to pull of her pants otherwise the lack of a certain male anatomical part would be all too auspicious.

Sighing, she undid the rest of the shirt buttons and threw her shirt to the ground. Her pants and socks followed until she stood in front of the bathroom mirror clad only in her blue panties and the bandages cross her chest that tightened her breasts against her chest. Her appearance didn't seem to give any hint as to her true gender, she thought glumly. She had a short, slender, almost too skinny frame, mid-length hair with swoopy bangs across half her face, narrow hips and a non-existent butt. Her face was pretty enough, when she had longer hair and dressed more like a girl. Now, after living with as a boy for two months, it wasn't until she took her clothes off in the evening that she realized she was a girl. And Jon…stupid Jon. She realized that she could be throwing away everything she was trying to work towards by involving herself with him. But she cared for him, she wanted the older boy. She loved the way he kissed her, the way he looked at her in the evening when she thought she wasn't looking. And she didn't want to give that up, even if it meant masquerading as a boy only for a bit longer.

And how ingenious! What better way to hide the fact that she was a girl then to dress up like one among her friends? Perhaps once she was in the club she might not fool other people, but that wasn't the point. She had to fool her friends.

With another sigh, she slipped into the silky garment and laced it up. Alanna almost had a heart attack when she saw herself in the mirror.

For her enjoyment, Gary had picked up a Red Riding Hood costume. A sultry, sweet but sexy type of Red Riding Hood. The skirt only came down to a few inches below her hips, showing off a fair amount of leg. The waistline was encircled by a black ribbon that closely hugged her own waist. The neckline was modest, coming down three finger widths below her collar bone. The sleeves were full length but below the elbows they opened outwards into bell-shaped ends. A small cape was attached to the dress and came down to just above the knees. Black lace adorned the ends of the skirt, sleeves and cape and black ribbons were tied up at her elbows. She pulled on the black, sheer stockings with lace that only came up to above her knees. The brilliant shade of red contrasted horribly with her copper hair but Alanna didn't care. She was entranced by this dress. Never had she worn something so feminine.

Alanna grinned to herself. Let Jon see her now. Let him crave and yearn for her as she wore this lust-inspiring, sensual and amatory dress. She stepped out to her room, and only had eyes for the yearning that came into Jon's face.

* * *

**Not as great as I wanted it to be but I'm exhausted and didn't want to put off updating another day cause I knew I wouldn't get around to it. Festival of the Dead is of course our modern day Halloween but in keeping in line with Tortallan culture and religion I thought that a Festival of the Dead would be much better suited than Halloween so I didn't make up a morbid holiday. Go look it up.**

**Huh, I feel like I'm not taking advantage of my M rating so next chapter be warned: it's going to get…lively. It will involve delicious dirty dancing, underage drinking and sensuous nudity. Yum.  
I know I'm not supposed to promote but go check out my new story, or rather the much improved and ****rewritten version of my story, **_**Into the Flames: Revised**_**. Pretty please read? :D**

**And one last thing: if you're wondering about Alanna's lust-inspiring, sensual and amatory dress that will drive Jon crazy for her I found a picture if it:**

**http :/ www . costumeexpress . com / Red-Riding-Hood-Tween-Costume /62260/ ProductDetail . aspx (just take out the spaces)**


	17. Festival of the Dead Part II

**Hiya! So crazeddaughter (I hope you see this and haven't just read the first few chapters and given up) – I'm aware my writing isn't perfect but I try. I have no aspirations to be a writer and I'm just doing the best I can. But I do appreciate the constructive criticism and will work to improve the quality of my writing :) **

**Shazam, while I do appreciate your enthusiasm and other people's interest in my story, I won't update any faster because someone decides they're too impatient and sends me angry rants. I've too much to do in my life right now.**

**I'm a terrible author: I forgot to put in Alanna's birthday which was during the spring in the original series but I've moved it to October so her relationship with Jon isn't too awkward. But FYI she's 15 now. ****And Douglass had some sort of emergency between now and the last chapter so he's not here.**

* * *

Alanna couldn't believe that she had let her friends talk her into coming with them. She had been convinced that they were going to an All Hallow's Eve party in the city, held by some older friends of Jon, Gary and Raoul. After the choosing of the costumes, they all went outside to where a limo was waiting to drive them to Corus. The trip there consisted of Gary and Raoul arguing passionately about who was to call dibs on Delia that evening, Jon trying to discreetly check out Alanna in her ridiculous costume and Alex pouting in the leather seat, fed up already with his friends antics. Alanna breathed with relief once she got out of the limo. Listening to Gary and Raoul was as about relaxing as Chinese Water Torture. Stepping onto the sidewalk, she saw that she had once again misjudged her friend's intentions. They stood in front of a nightclub, the Blue Palace. Excited and costumed youths milled around the door, eager for entry for what seemed like the most chic and fashionable club in the city.

Alanna felt herself pushed forward, propelled from behind by Gary. Her friends had gathered on the sidewalk and surveyed the scene outside obviously pleased by their choice of location judging from the grins on their faces. Or it could also mean that the boys couldn't wait to get inside and drink and dance with girls to their hearts' delight.

"What is this place?" Alanna asked in annoyance. She hated surprises and she hated when people changed their plans.

"This is the hottest club in all of Corus." Gary explained, gesturing grandly at the flashy sign of the Blue Palace. "All the biggest and wildest parties are held here. In fact, it's so popular that you have to buy tickets at least a months before an event."

Alanna stopped short in her tracks and turned to face Gary. "Isn't this too much for a bunch of high school boys? How are we even going to be admitted? We all look under age. Except Raoul who just looks huge to begin with."

Gary scoffed. "I didn't plan any of this. I only suggested that we do something fun this year instead of ending up at a lame party like last year. It was a terrible event." Gary grabbed Alex and hauled him by the shoulders, using Alex as a shield from Alanna. "In fact, it was Alex here who actually organized this whole thing! If you want to be mad at someone, be mad at this guy!"

"I'm not mad at anyone!" Alanna said to Gary's amazement who still hid behind Alex.

"Gary, Fire-Head," Jon addressed them by name, respectively. "You both need to calm down. This evening is going to be no fun if you both start going at each other when we haven't even set one foot instead the place. Oh and Gary, will you please let go of Alex? It would ruin the evening for all of us if you ended up strangling him." Gary released Alex, who stumbled a few paces away, gingerly rubbing his chest.

Raoul patted Alanna's head. "I wouldn't worry about getting into the club. We know the bouncer and he's bound to let us in. I mean, he does owe both Jon's and my father quite a bit of money." A sudden breeze blew through and entangled Alanna in Raoul's Thor cape.

"So the bouncer is a crook?" Alanna asked skeptically.

"A little bit yes." Raoul answered normally as if Alanna had asked him about the weather.

"Damn all of this!" Alex interjected. "We're not going to be able to get if all we do is fucking stand around here. Let's get in line shall we?" He made his way to the queue, his black Grim Reaper cloak sweeping out behind him.

"Capital idea!" Gary exclaimed. Alex could only roll his eyes. Gary saw this and in turn ruffled Alex's hair, a move that the boy absolutely despised. They stood in line to the club, the line inching forward at a steady pace. Alanna looked the bouncer over a few times when they finally reached the door. He certainly didn't look as intimidating as the bouncer to the Dancing Dove but then again, The Blue Palace was in the Upper part of the city and certainly couldn't be expected to attract the riffraff of the Lower City. However Alanna forget all about bouncers and other nightclubs as soon as they made their way into the establishment.

Inside the nightclub, neon blue, green, pink and purple lights flashed above, a storm of color that enveloped the dance floor. A strobe light emitted its waving and sputtering beams, pale white lightening that flashed and flared. Somewhere in the club, a fog machine was going full blast and mist clouded and curled over the floor, obscuring it from view. It was a two-story establishment, the second level a balcony that wrapped around the wall and overlooked the bottom level of the club. People danced and grinded against each other on both levels, drinks in their hands and cigarettes in the hands of others. The dance floor was a clashing multitude of people: there were Skin Heads, skateboarders, hippies, preppy academy boys, beach lovers, Joko girls. It was a circus of people, all meshed together and dancing in rhythm to the pulsating music. Bodies clad in leather, silk, feathers, glitter and lace ground against the next body, not caring if it was a friend or stranger.

Alanna look on wide-eyed. Never before had she been inside a nightclub and the sight was…thrilling, enthralling, almost dreamlike. The music throbbed and pulsed through the air, a mixture of trance and rave that was entirely foreign to her ears.

Jon couldn't help but laugh at Alan. This poor boy had obviously been sheltered too much in his life. It was good that at least Alan had the chance to have this bit of fun.

"Some place huh Trebond?" He bent down to shout in Alan's ear above the noise of the music. Mithros above the boy was short, although Jon didn't mind much.

"I've never to something like this before." Alanna said, her voice barely carrying over the music that practically shook the roof.

"I know." Jon said, laughing. "I could tell by your face." Gary gestured for them to go over the bar which was situated along one side of the club. Bartenders with spikey blue and green hair served drinks, their eyes glowing neon colors in the semi-darkness. Alanna had to guess contacts or whatever crazy surgery people subjugated themselves to nowadays as neon colored eyes were typically not normal. The shelves behind the bar were lined with every alcoholic beverage imaginable: gin, whiskey, beer, wine, absinthe, vodka, rum, brandy, tequila, soju, liqueurs. People sat at the counter or stood, holding drinks of differing kinds. Alanna saw a woman dressed as a sexy nurse sipping a drink that was smoking slightly. Whatever it was, Alanna decided she would forego trying that.

"So what'll it be?" Gary thumped her on the shoulder, sending her stumbling forward.

"You obviously don't know the full extent of your strength." Raoul sighed. Alanna straightened out, ignoring the odd looks from the bartenders. They were quite aware that she couldn't possibly be eighteen yet.

"I'll just have a lemonade." Alanna said quickly, trying to avoid being kicked out for underage drinking.

"Me too," Jon waved a few coins in the air to pay for the drinks. "But add a splash of tequila in mine." Of course Jon could get away with anything he wanted. The other boys made their decisions without hesitation and with a whoop, they ran onto the dance floor ready for a night of fun. Jon tried to get her to dance but was met with stubborn refusal. He looked impatiently at his friends who looked as if they were having the time of their lives and back at Alanna, who sat sullenly at the bar.

"Just one dance?" Jon pleaded. Alanna couldn't tell where one song ended and the next began and thought that she would be out there for the rest of the evening. Alanna knew that he would rather be out there having fun than sitting quietly on a stool for the evening, even in the company of the object of his affections.

"I'll finish this," Alanna held up her glass. "You go on ahead and I'll catch up." Jon nodded, then leaned in to kiss her fully on the lips.

"There'll be plenty more where that came from." Jon teased and turned quickly away to avoid her wrath.

Jon had kissed her out openly in public, Alanna thought in astonishment! How dare he risk everything, her cover! Someone might have recognized them and thought it odd, the relationship between the two of them. But then, hadn't Alanna admitted that she had no problem with boys dating each other, or members of the same sex? What worried her so much if people recognized them? There would be nothing to lose for either of them. In the long run, however, Alanna knew that she could not keep her secret forever and the last thing she wanted was to have anything she did reflect poorly on Jon. There were plenty of people who did support her views. They would argue that she had tricked him, tricked everyone in school just to get ahead. Dizzying thoughts ran circles in her head until Alanna dispelled such pessimistic thoughts and finished off her lemonade, making a mental note to more carefully reconsider her position later.

Within minutes, she was bored. At first the lights, the music, the people and everything else there was to see fascinated her. Then there came the gradual sense that she had no one to discuss the marvels with. Next came the depressing realization that she could not see her friends anywhere, as if the crowd had simply swallowed them whole. Sighing, she hopped down from the stool and made her way upstairs to the second level so she could hopefully see above the fog, lights and throng of people.

Ten minutes later after a heart-hearted search, Alanna was standing glumly by herself in the much-quieter, upper level VIP section next to the fish tank. Exotic colored fish swam around the large tank, made to look like a real coral reef. Alanna couldn't help but feel even more depressed as she saw a blue-tailed fish swim by her lazily, trapped in a glass tank in a nightclub. She briefly considered pulling the fire alarm and escaping the nightclub to catch a cab back to the school. It was obvious that there was little for her to do here besides watch the trapped fish swim in their tank for the rest of the night. As she was inching towards the fire alarm, someone fell onto her from behind and spilled their drink on her.

"Bloody hell!" She exclaimed. She managed to land on her side just as she had learned from her hand to hand combat teacher. This would have prevented her from hurting herself as she fell that is, if the person hadn't decided to fall on top of her. Alanna groaned from the impact. Whoever it was, they were obviously a lot bigger than her.

"Oh excuse me!" A voice giggled. The pressure on her back vanished and Alanna shifted herself to see which idiot had fallen on her.

"The Idiot" turned out to be a beautiful young girl with inky black hair. Everything about her positively radiated beauty. Hazel eyes glistened under long, think eyelashes which almost brushed the top of her high cheekbones when she blinked. Smooth, immaculate skin was still tanned at the end of October but only served to add an air of mystery and adventure to her. She had a tall build and was slender yet had enticing curves. In short, she had the body that every boy would lust after and every girl would envy.

Alanna could do nothing but stare at this stunning girl who looked as if she had just stepped out of a fashion magazine, one for faeries as this girl was dressed in a short purple and gold faerie dress. She wore a small golden circlet on her head which shimmered with the shifting lights from the dance floor.

"I'm so sorry," The girl said. "I lost my balance for a moment and couldn't hold onto anything. I swear I didn't mean to fall onto you. I didn't see you since you're, well umm, you were behind the fish tank." Alanna guessed that the girl mean to say, "I didn't see you since you're too short". Alanna's cheeks heated up and looked down at the floor.

"Here," The girl held out a hand. "Let me help you up." Alanna was hoisted off the floor. "I'm Thayet by the way. I just moved here to Corus to work on my music career. I don't really know anybody, that's why I came tonight, so I could meet people." Thayet smiled, showing off very white and very straight teeth. "So what brings you here tonight?"

"Thanks." Alanna dusted herself off, feeling incredibly self-conscious in front of Thayet. "I'm actually not supposed to be here. I'm underage and I'm here with a couple of friends. We're all from the Conté school." She might as well tell her the truth. She wouldn't want to lie to Thayet now about her age and be caught at a later date. Although it would be funny to think that Thayet would have thought Alanna of legal drinking age but Alanna rolled her eyes at the thought. No one in their right mind would think her older than her actual age.

"Oh," Thayet said simply, her face concentrated with a confused expression. Then she threw back her head and laughed. It was now Alanna's face to stare at this beautiful girl in confusion.

"I must apologize again," Thayet said as she wiped away tears from her hazel eyes. "It must have been the costume. When I first saw you properly, I could swear you were a girl! But since you go to the Conté school…Wow you totally got me right there."

"Haha," Alanna forced the laughter while her hands clutched and pulled at the skirt of Red Riding Hood outfit. "Yeah I totally wanted to fool everyone tonight. You won't believe how many people were fooled already. It's crazy at how many guys have asked me for my numbers only to find out that I'm a boy!" She had been through too many embarrassing moments in her life, but this was definitely in the top five of the most ridiculous and stupidest moments. In fact, ever since coming to Conté d'Royale and Corus, the number of embarrassing and awkward situations had increased exponentially. She was sure that she had never attracted so much mayhem in her old school. Alanna wondered if she should have gone to the religious school her father had picked out originally; it would have been a safer alternative.

"I haven't met very many boys who willingly dress up in a girl's outfit." Thayet said.

"I guess I must be one of a kind." Alanna willed herself not to roll her eyes again. _How many girls actually try to hide their true sex by pretending to be a boy, dressed up as a girl? _In all honesty, Alanna thought this the perfect material for a sitcom.

Thayet cleared her throat. "But anyway, it was really nice meeting you. You seem like a really nice guy, so how about this," the black-haired girl drew out a pen and reached for Alanna's arm. In astonishment, Alanna realized that Thayet was writing her number down on her forearm! Alanna stood shock still by the absurdity of it all.

"You're absolutely adorable and I dig your awesome costume. Call me or text me sometime ok? It'd be really nice to have a familiar face around here."

"Oh I'll definitely make sure to text you." Alanna sputtered. Thayet giggled, waved and left, carrying her empty cocktail glass. Alanna wasn't quite sure what to do with herself. Had that beautiful girl just given Alanna her freaking telephone number? She looked down at her arm, the dark ink of scrawled numbers contrasting against her pale skin. What was she supposed to do with it? Text Thayet later and admit to being a girl? Or not even text her at all? Alanna shook her head and tugged at her sleeve to hide the number. It would be best if Jon and the others didn't know about this.

However, she was unaware that it was too late to hide anything at all.

"Hey Alan!" Alanna cringed. So it seemed that she wasn't off the hook. She turned to see Raoul, Gary and Jon peeking over from the top of one of the cushiony red plush couches. Just how long they've sat there and how much they'd seen was a mystery although if they were hiding, they must have seen quite a bit. She immediately went to the defensive, hoping to intimidate them.

"You were spying on me?" She asked angrily.

Gary jumped up from hiding, Raoul and Jon following suit. "First off," Gary explained, straightening out his Darth Vader costume. "I'd like to let you know that it wasn't our intent to spy on you, no not at all. Second, we noticed that you were suspiciously absent from the bar and the bottom level so we went to go look for you, being concerned for your safety. Third, it didn't seem right to interrupt your wooing of the fair lady so we waited here." Gary smiled a dazzling smile as if that made everything better.

"Although, I never would have guess that tall dark-haired girls are your type. I would have thought you'd go after short blondes." Raoul added, Gary nodding his head in agreement. Jon stood there silently, and only Alanna could see the grim set of his mouth, displeased by the sight he'd just seen.

"Wooing of the fair lady?" Alanna repeated. "I wasn't wooing anyone! She fell on me and spilled her damn drink all over me! Look!" She twisted around to point to her back. She was soaked and reeked of whatever fruity alcoholic drink Thayet had been drinking.

Raoul stepped forward and gripped Alanna into a rib-crushing hug. His hard plastic armor dug uncomfortably into her stomach. "I know you want to keep this episode to yourself and not have us interfere with your beautiful lady." Alanna grumbled something but was pressed up to Raoul's chest too tightly to be heard.

"Come on Raoul let him breathe." This was Jon now. "It's not like Alan purposely dragged a girl up here to be alone with her. Obviously Alan was too overcome by being in the proximity of such a beautiful girl and couldn't help but be overcome by her charms." Now Alanna rolled her eyes. Her friends were being too dramatic about his whole thing. Raoul finally let Alanna go and she breathed in deeply.

"Alright," she said firmly, "Here'd what happened: this bimbo tripped, fell on top of me, spilled her fucking drink on me, didn't see me because I'm short, thought I was a girl, laughed when she found out I was a girl, thought I was cute and then gave me her damn number because obviously now she thinks I'll be a great friend since I'm obviously unattractive to her. That's all there is to the story." She crossed her arms and peered up at them. "And no," she said in response to their dubious looks. "While she is attractive she's not my type and I'm not the least bit interested in her. So there!"

Gary giggled. "Alright Alan calm down we were only teasing."

"So those this mean I can go flirt with her?" Raoul asked. "What?" He asked in response to Gary's gasp.

"Oh so now Delia isn't good enough for you I see!" Gary exclaimed. "First you complain about me trying to take away your 'girlfriend' who really isn't even your girlfriend but now you want to go after another girl? I won't stand for it!"

"I was joking man!" Raoul laughed nervously. "Right Jon?" He looked to Jon for help, who in turn couldn't stop grinning at the turn of conversation.

"I mean," Gary went on. "One gorgeous dark-haired girl isn't enough for Raoul is it? No sir, he has to have two! Can't possibly care to consider the feelings of others who may or may not be after the same girl in question."

"Fine then!" Raoul threw up his hands. "I want full rights to Delia and you can go after Thayet no problem! Happy?"

"For Mithros sake!" Alanna jumped in. "Both of them are people too not property that you can call your own without them even knowing about it. Raoul, Gary, if you really both think Thayet is that great, go ask her for her number. She said she's new to town and wants to make new friends."

Gary gasped again. "But I'd sound like such a creep! I don't even know her! I can't go up to her and say 'Welcome to Corus; want to be friends?'. That's weird."

"Well so is talking about her and claiming her as your own!" Alanna snapped back.

Raoul started pointing excitedly at Alanna, notably, her arm. "Alan has her number! We'll just say we're friends of Alan's and he was kind enough to tell others so she'd have even more friends!" With this, Raoul dove at Alanna. Alanna managed to jump out of the way with a little shriek and jumped behind a couch.

"Are you mad?" She shouted. "How much have you both had to drink tonight?"

"Quite a bit in fact." Raoul answered. He had climbed onto the couch and tried to reach down to grab at Alanna. She in turn quickly crawled across the floor and took shelter under a low-set table. She looked behind her to see Jon wrapping his arms around Raoul's mid-section and hauling him off the couch. During all of this, Gary had resigned himself to an armchair and was roaring with laughter.

"Enough of this nonsense!" Jon growled. "This is completely stupid! Raoul, go cool your head. Gary, go make sure he doesn't harass anyone else." Gary sobered up and was still giggling when he grabbed hold of Raoul's muscular upper arm to guide him towards the stairs.

"And what are you going to do?" Gary turned and asked, ignoring Raoul's insistent protests.

Jon pointed at Alanna, who was currently stuck under the table that had been her refuge only moments before. "I'm going to go stick him under a hand dryer in the bathroom to dry him off." Gary only chuckled at this and led Raoul downstairs. As they walked away, Alanna could hear Gary say "I hope Alex hasn't gone and shacked up with that one girl he was dancing with earlier."

Alanna had given up struggling. Jon came over and lifted the table off of her so that she could stand up once again. Alanna swore that if she ended up one more time on the floor tonight she might break a bottle over someone's head.

"Jon," she said in a soft voice. Jon looked at her. "You don't think that I was actually flirting with the girl, do you?"

Jon laughed and shrugged his shoulders. "For a moment there, I had no idea what was happening. I came in time to see her haul you up from the floor. Although I might admit that when she gave you her number I was more than a bit jealous."

With a sigh, Alanna took Jon's hand and intertwined her fingers in his. "You don't have to get jealous whenever someone talks to me."

"You never can be too careful," Jon said solemnly. "They might think you're absolutely adorable and decide to take you home with them." Alanna only stared at him. Then Jon grinned at her and they both started laughing.

"You can be so ridiculous sometimes."

"I know." Jon admitted. With no warning, he tackled her to the floor and playfully started to kiss her neck.

"Oh Jon!" Alanna gasped in shock. She was so ready to grab a bottle and fling it at someone now.

"What?" His voice muffled into her neck.

"Stop someone might see us."

"So what?" Jon looked up at her, sapphire eyes meeting her violet ones. "They think you're such a cute and sexy girl. They won't even know."

"This isn't fair!" Alanna complained. "I'm soaking wet from some bimbo's drink and you want to make-out?"

"Well, yes." Jon didn't hesitate on his answer. "And I know that you want to too." His voice dropped seductively.

"How about you stick me under the dryer for a bit and then we'll talk about it?" Alanna suggested.

"Jeez," Jon slowly rolled off of her, as if the act alone required an enormous amount of will power. "Talk about a party pooper."

"You should try walking around in wet silk," Alanna muttered as Jon wrapped his arm around her waist and the two of them walked towards the bathroom. She was positively thrilled to be in such close contact with him after what seemed like an eternity that they finally had the chance to touch each other in affection. Even if it had been yesterday that they had shared that moment in the school bathroom, but it couldn't really count as it had been interrupted.

"What are you thinking about?" Jon asked. Sometimes Alan just became quiet all of a sudden and required prompting to be brought back out of his daydreams.

"Nothing in particular." She answered.

"So we're here in a club with dim lighting, alone and you're thinking about noting in particular?" Jon teased.

Alanna playfully elbowed him. "I'm thinking about the wonderful moment when I get to take off this stupid dress. It's ridiculous."

"You want me to take it off for you?"

Alanna couldn't help but giggle. "That's not what I meant."

"You want Thayet to take it off for you?"

"Oh Jon," She pushed him up against the door of the bathroom, Jon doing nothing to protect himself. He was laughing when suddenly someone opened the door from behind, leaving Jon to fall backwards into the bathroom.

"Sorry about that." The man apologized. He took one good look at Alanna, and to Jon whose face was flushed from laughter. Putting two and two together, he grinned. "Someone's having a good time huh?" He said suggestively. Not waiting for an answer, he went back to the lower level, leaving Jon and Alanna completely alone.

"Hey Alan, want to help me up?"

"Lazy much?" Alanna teased. She could barely pull Jon up from the floor so it was an entirely waste of effort for her to try. After some slight arguing, wrestling, kissing and bribery, Alanna locked herself in a stall and threw her costume over the top of the stall door to a disappointed Jon who had wanted to watch her strip. He grumbled about it but loyally agreed to holding the outfit under a hand dryer. Alanna added this bathroom incident to her list of ridiculously awkward situations.

"You know, this isn't exactly how I imagined getting you naked for the first time." Jon said over the noise of the blow dryer. Alanna squeaked in surprise, double-checking the stall door to make sure it was securely locked. Trust Jon to say the most inappropriate things in the most awkward situations! It was as if he purposely tried to make her feel flustered, although she wouldn't put it past him. But now was an ample opportunity to show him who she really was...wasn't it? Here she was, half naked, alone with Jon. It wasn't exactly the most ideal or romantic approach that she had envisioned. She could stride right out of the stall, throwing caution to the winds and simply expose herself to Jon who In turn would…Alanna could think of dozens of reactions that Jon might exhibit. The overwhelming majority of them were unpleasant, ranging from simple disinterest to outright rage and accusations. She couldn't count on simply appealing to Jon's sympathetic and compassionate side. It would be rather silly of her to think that Jon could come to terms with her identity in a manner of minutes and still feel the same about her.

Everything sucked so badly. She had made a complete mess of things. It would ruin the whole evening and Jon might not want to have anything to do with her after this. Still, she hated lying to him. She loathed it. And it broke her heart to think that she could say she loved him whilst lying in disguise.

"You've gone quiet again." Jon pressed the button again to the dryer. Evidently, this was taking a longer time than either of them had assumed.

"The dryer is really noisy." Alanna said lamely, not quite knowing what else to say. She could tell the truth right now. End her feelings of guilt and betrayal. At least she could rest easy knowing that Jon would no longer be lied to.

"Good point." Jon said. That was the end of their conversation for a while. Alanna agonized over her decision the whole time. What had gotten into her so suddenly that made her want to confess? Her heart fluttered nervously as if she had already decided to say it. It could be a disaster. Jon might go to the Headmaster and she would be forever shamed, her father sending her off to the convent and her brother heart-broken from his sister's absence.

Shaking her head, Alanna swept these sinister thoughts from her mind. Thinking of such drastic events wouldn't help her nerves at all.

"All done!" Jon proudly proclaimed. "If you slip it on immediately it'll still be nice and warm." He came over to her stall. "I think this really deserves a kiss."

"Yes I think it does." Alanna agreed, her voice trembling.

"Want to come out now?" Jon suggested lightly. There was no mistake as to what he really wanted.

"I'm cold." Alanna grumbled, trying to make Jon feel sorry for her.

"I could warm you up…"

"And I have no doubt that you'd fully take advantage of my naked state." Alanna said.

Jon clutched at his heart, gasping with fake shock. "Oh my dear Alan, have you no faith in me?"

"Can I have my clothes please?" Alanna ignored his question. She really was starting to feel cold at this point.

"Fine." Jon sighed and tossed the red silky garment over the top of the door. "I must relent. Since I know how particularly stubborn you can be." When Alanna considered herself presentable and ready to face the older boy with some dignity, she opened the door and stepped out. She caught Jon looking at her with lusty eyes, guessing what he was thinking of.

"So about that kiss…" Jon trailed off.

"I do believe I owe you one." Their gazes met and locked, sweeping her out of reality on a tidal wave of emotion, like always. Their lips melded together, drawn to each other as if in a trance. Slowly, deliberately, Jon kissed her as if they had all the time in the world. Alanna closed her eyes, enjoying the sweet and warm sensations such kissing stirred throughout her body.

"Alan," Jon growled. He jerked his head back suddenly to look into her eyes. "Please, you've been driving me mad for months now. I can't stand not being around you. Even when you're annoyed or angry at me I don't care. I'd gladly do anything to make it up to you. And you know what? I swear on all the gods that I love you. I honestly love you and your temper and your blushing and your shortness." Alanna didn't say a word and keep her arms and legs wrapped around Jon.

"Coming to the point," Jon went on. "I want to be with you. I want to feel you, to be inside of you, to be close to you like no one ever has."

"But not here!" Alanna protested quickly.

"No," Jon shook his head. "Not in the bathroom silly. I want our first time to be special. Oh gods Alan I've never felt this way about anyone!"

Alanna froze. Their first time? "You want to have…sex?" Alanna sputtered. How had she not seen this coming, no pun intended. ;)

"Well of course. You don't?" Jon looked and sounded crestfallen.

"I honestly haven't thought about it that much."

Wasn't now the most opportune time? What would she say if Jon lifted up her skirt later? "Oh sorry Jon, I know that you thought I was a boy but I actually have a vagina." Somehow, she knew it would not go over well.

"How about later?" Jon leaned in to whisper in her ear. "We're leaving in a bit to go to Raoul's family owned penthouse a few blocks away from here. It's got all the amenities, lots of bedrooms." He softly kissed her jaw. In such close contact, Alanna smelled Jon's expensive cologne, that one that she found so delicious and irresistible. The smell of whatever alcohol he had consumed earlier lingered on him and he smelt of the cheap cigarettes that he was so fond of.

Alanna knew how Jon perceived her to be. She could imagine the type of sex that Jon was later expecting. If she agreed to put off this promise of intimacy for a while longer, she would only prolong her lie and keep forcing the looming prospect of sex further and further away, but never completely being able to erase the idea.

"Do think that Raoul and the others would mind?" She said quietly. She had no idea what the other boys' might think of them being together.

Jon kissed her on the lips once more and drew back again. "If it's them you worry about, then we don't have to tell them about it."

"But wouldn't they think it odd, both of us sneaking off together into a bedroom?" Alanna offered as an argument,

"There's going to be another party over there and everyone will be so hammered they won't notice two people gone. Especially since other people are going to be, ah, celebrating with each other as well."

"Still someone might notice…" Alanna trailed off, now totally at a loss as to what to say.

"Mithros, Alan," Jon sighed heavily, that feeling of intimacy suddenly disappearing. "If you really don't want to have sex with me tonight just go ahead and say it."

Alanna bit her lower lip. Was now a good time to tell him the truth?

**(Jon's climatic speech of love)**

Jon tilted his head to one side and looked at her curiously. "Look, I won't pretend to you." He said, sparing her the necessity of replying. "I've had sex before with girls only. That's no secret. And I love it. But ever since I met you I've really found that I don't need just sex to be happy with someone. And I know that you don't spend so much 'quality time' together as any other couple would. And I may have been pushy with kissing you and making out so maybe our relationship never got off to the best start."

Jon drew in a breath. "But Alan, I love you. I could shout it out to the world right now and I wouldn't give a fuck about what our friends think or the Headmaster or my father. I've found someone that I can trust, cherish, talk to without worrying about what you might think of me and someone that doesn't just want a physical relationship in return. I wouldn't trade you in for a super model or anyone I've been with before. And I know this may sound funny," He gave a short laugh. "I know I said sex isn't the main thing in a relationship and I know I said that I wanted you just seconds ago but, Gods if you're still not sure about it then I won't press you about it. It's entirely up to you. And I'm rambling now. I'm sorry." He gave another resolute sigh. "But like I said, it's entirely up to you. I don't want to lose you." He whispered the last part.

Alanna trailed her fingers across Jon's chest, thinking about her answer before saying it aloud.

"Jon," she whispered. "I do want to have sex with you. Tonight."

* * *

**Phew! 12 pages and 6, 318 words! I want this turned into a movie. Ha! I want to play Alanna and kiss Jon! Anyway, Review and tell me what you thought. More reviews, the more motivation I have to write the next chapter faster which is going to rock your socks ;)**


	18. Festival of the Dead Part III Confession

***Le gasp* It can't be! Is this…is this a new chapter of **_**Twisted Choices**_**? Well lovely readers, it is. And guess who's going to finish this story once and for all? ME! So college started and all beautiful things associated with it happened. And I believe this might have been the most difficult chapter to write as of yet. There's so much going on and I think I might have rewritten the dialogue a few times over because I hated it. ****And don't kill me its 18 pages long in MicrosoftWord so you have a lot of reading to do.**** Enjoy!**

* * *

Raoul decided that the evening had not been going quite as planned. In fact, it seemed that every time they ventured out on one of these night-time endeavors, nothing ever went as planned. For example: last January, for Alex's seventeenth birthday they had planned a night out at a stripper club, much to Alex's displeasure and Jon's excitement. They hadn't even made it into the city when their car had broken down and they had been forced to walk back to the school in shame. They had snuck out and "borrowed" one of the Headmaster's cars for the occasion. From January until the end of the school year, they hadn't been allowed out of the school, except for sport and field trips, and even then their every move had been scrutinized. So now, on All Hallow's Eve, it came as no surprise to Raoul that the evening fun had disintegrated to chaos.

The club had been fantastic. Everyone seemed to have enjoyed whatever they decided to engage in. Especially Jon and Alan…he noticed how the two of them had gone off together for a good long while and came back giggling. He had seen how they held hands as they went down the stairs, only to let go once they reached the bottom and realized someone might see them. Raoul thought it cute, however he never thought Jon would go for guys, especially not with his track record.

After meeting up at the front of the club (a hassling ordeal in itself since not one of them seemed to be able to tell time correctly) and finding out new members had been added to this party group (Raoul could appreciate Thayet's beauty however Buri was a far more interesting and mysterious character; Alex's blondes he had picked up at the club had come out with him, apparently invited by the dark-haired boy) they climbed into the borrowed limousine and sped off towards the much talked about penthouse party. Raoul wasn't sure if Gary or Alex had noticed, but he sure as hell noticed the cuddling Jon and Alan were engaged in. He couldn't miss the glances they gave each other either, desire and want were written all over their faces, although Raoul swore he detected a slight bit of apprehension and concern in Alan. Were they really together? And since when did Jon ever show the slightest bit of interest in boys? It was perplexing but if they were happy then he couldn't say anything about it, although he should make sure to ask Alan or Jon to get the whole story.

If Alan and Jon truly were together, then maybe there was a chance for him to… There was no time to dwell on it: while they made a sharp turn, Gary spilled champagne all over Raoul's lap and that was the end of that thought. At the penthouse, the property of Gary's father, people had already arrived (friends and friends of friends already there and fully wasted) and more were coming as the hours wore on. Jon and Alan whisked themselves away immediately and that was the last he saw of them for a while. After arriving at the penthouse Raoul lost track of his friends from the club and tried making a move on Thayet's friend Buri, who repeatedly resisted his attempts to flirt, dance or talk, instead opting to never leave her beautiful friend's side.

Hours passed and now aware of the time, Raoul thought it'd be best to herd up his friends and go back to the school before they missed their curfew and were stuck in detention for the next two weeks. Unfortunately for his eyes, he found Alex first.

Alex was laying naked, face-down in a puddle of vodka in the bathroom with two girls from the club, equally undressed as he was. The girls lay on either side of Alex, while he snored away. The Jacuzzi was full of lukewarm water and foamy bubbles floated on the surface. Apparently all three of them couldn't wait to get to the bedroom to pass out after climbing out of the Jacuzzi. Or had they simply had their fun in the Jacuzzi and called it a night? Raoul wondered briefly about it but decided he wanted to know nothing further about Alex's…endeavors tonight.

Gary had retired to a couch, thankfully fully clothed and not too drunk. Out of the small group of friends in the penthouse he had drank the least, making up for it by sitting on the couch and alternating between smoking a hookah and numerous buds of marijuana. He had given Raoul a confused, glazed over look when Raoul had asked him if he knew where either Jon or Alan was. Gary replied with "You really _must _try this shit. It's awesome." Raoul wandered away. Drinking was one thing but illegal drugs were not on Raoul's agenda. Although doing drugs with Gary would be…fun. But Raoul might say things he might regret later.

Raoul made his rounds but could still find neither Jon nor Alan. It seemed as if they'd vanished from the penthouse entirely. He decided to look around one more time before he'd try to call Jon and find out where the hell he could be hiding. It wasn't as if the penthouse was that big. Sure it had twelve bedrooms, its own miniature home movie theater and its own dance floor. He knew other people who had fifteen bedrooms. Now that was over-doing it.

He pushed past people, some dressed, some not and some in between. There were partiers playing volleyball with a huge striped beach ball in the living room with an audience that clapped and cheered, although there were no distinguishable sides. Raoul had to stop a couple from having sex on the marble counter top, cringing at his father's reaction if he ever were to find out exactly what was going on here tonight.

Finally, after diving through messy hallways and drunk people, after trying to avoid having drinks spilled on him, after successfully circumvading used condoms on the floor, Raoul found himself in a quiet hallway, no one in sight. He found it serenely calm actually. He enjoyed the occasional party but tonight…this had transcended from party to some sort of scene from _Animal House_!

Raoul went down the hallway and checked the first bedroom. No one was in there. The next room proved to be empty as well. The third door he opened led to a bathroom where a disgruntled occupant shouted, "Can't a guy crap in peace around here?" Raoul hurriedly closed it behind him. There was only one door left to check before he would give up his search attempt for Jon and Alan. They were both old enough to take of themselves, and each other if they were in that position. Raoul was about to grab the doorknob of the last door when he noticed it was ajar. And it seemed the room's occupants were arguing. Edging closer to hear, he was relieved to recognize Jon and Alan's voices and shocked that they were arguing. Both were quarreling quite viciously about something he couldn't quite understand.

"…And you did it for two months, while we had agreed on a relationship based on honesty and trust. Excuse me for being a little upset!" This was Jon now. What? What was this about?

"Alright Jon, but please listen to me now." Alan could be heard begging Jon in a shrill tone. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry for hurting you and I'm sorry for lying to you. I don't want you to be so angry at me. Jon, you have to believe me when I say that I love you and never, ever, ever intended to hurt you. But remember how much we enjoyed being together? Do you want to give that up? If you need time away from me, away from us, then so be it but please don't ignore me!"

There was a pause. Raoul leaned in even close, not wanting to miss a single word.

"You know what…" Jon said. "I think you may be right. I do need some time to think things over between us. We need to take a break." Raoul quietly snuck away as he heard Alan give out a sob.

* * *

_**Earlier that evening…**_

_Alanna trailed her fingers across Jon's chest, thinking about her answer before saying it aloud._

"_Jon," she whispered. "I really do want to have sex with you. Tonight."_

Alanna and Jon left the bathroom, hand in hand. Her heart was fluttering in her chest like a caged bird. Her confession from just minutes ago had left Alanna rather speechless and shaky. Although it would still be a few hours before Jon learned the truth, the impending declaration was like the anticipation of sunrise to vampires. It made her tense and incapable of calming down. However much it scared her to think of how Jon might react, she thought that now was the best time to admit to her secret. For Mithros sake! He had just confessed to being wholly in love with her. He, giving her the _option _of determining what nighttime activities they might become in involved in later, only further established the great trust he gave to her. If he had simply demanded sex from her in that bathroom, Alanna would most certainly have ended everything right there without second thought of continuing the relationship. If only Jon wasn't so damn noble! It now hurt Alanna to envision what her frank announcement of guilt might do to him. Or what he might think of her afterwards.

Still, Alanna could have debated with herself for hours, for days and every decision she might reach would ultimately cost her something. Better now to get it over with than to prolong this harmful illusion. With sudden shock, she wondered if Jon might tell Gary, Raoul or any of their friends. And if Jon didn't tell them, and he completely hated her for lying to him, would he allow her to continue hanging out with them? Most likely not. He would not want anything to do with her. But what if he didn't go berserk and accepted her confession gracefully?

"Are you alright?" Jon asked her, voice heavy with concern. Alanna looked up at him, just realizing how much taller he was than her.

"Oh I'm fine." She lied. "I'm just umm, a little tipsy from whatever I had before."

Jon scrunched his eyebrows together with confusion. "I thought you had lemonade?"

"Well the bartender must have put something in there or clubs have a different definition of lemonade!" Alanna purposely stumbled and fell down for added effect. "Omph!"

"Alan!" Jon knelt beside her. "Jeez they really must have done something to your drink huh?" He stroked her cheek softly. Alanna closed her eyes and leaned her cheek into Jon's warm hand. She couldn't stop herself, this feeling coursing through her body.

"Alan," Jon whispered her name and leaned into to kiss her sensuously on her mouth. They might have stayed like that, if they haven't been interrupted.

"Gods above!" Jon and Alanna both jumped and immediately scrambled to their feet, only to find Thayet standing a few feet away, her hands clasped over her mouth.

"Thayet!" Alanna stammered. "What on earth are you doing here?" As soon as the words left her mouth, Alanna realized it was a stupid thing to have said. It was a public place after all and Thayet could come and go as she pleased.

"I just had to use the restroom!" The words spilled from Thayet in a rush. "I just had too much to drink and had to come back up here. I'm so sorry for interrupting you both. I didn't know that anyone was up in the lounge and I especially didn't know that you two were together. Oh Mithros above you must hate me for giving Alan my number! I didn't know that you already had a boyfriend and I'm totally cool with that, since I don't have anything against two boys being together. It's not I don't find you attractive or anything Alan but I don't want you and your boyfriend to misunderstand me when I invited you to call me so we could hang out. And I mean I don't find you attractive, well I think you're really cute and all but you're not my type, you're just too cute! Please don't get offended you're very attractive in your own way…" Thayet continued her rant while Jon and Alanna lay on the floor, the beautiful girl oblivious to how very awkward both of them felt.

The look that Jon gave Alanna told her exactly how nuts the older boy thought Thayet to be.

"Excuse me, Thayet?" Jon said. Thayet chose this point in her rant to come up for air.

"I'm sorry, I'm rambling on aren't I?" She practically wailed. "I know it's such an annoying habit and my mother absolutely detests it. She used to think that I would never find a man that would like me because she said I never shut my mouth when I'm supposed to. And it only gets worse when I get nervous especially around people I really don't know and I feel like crying sometimes because half the time people don't want to talk to me again after they meet me because I tend to keep talking more than I should and don't let them get in a word. They think it's because I don't like them but that's not true I just really want to tell people about everything and I just can't help it that I can talk so much!"

"Thayet!" Alanna shouted over the racket and din of the nightclub. If this girl kept talking Alanna would _really_ give Thayet something to cry over! "Please, stop…talking." Thayet closed her mouth and vigorously nodded her head. "Jon and I don't care that you interrupted us," Alanna was actually glad that Thayet had come up when she did, otherwise her secret would have been revealed too soon. "We actually should find our friends downstairs." She stood and Jon followed suit.

"Yea, our friend owns a penthouse, well his father does at least, and we made plans to host a party there after we finished at the club." Jon explained. To Alanna, this was all shocking news. Who said anything whatsoever about a party in a penthouse? She was still getting over the shock of ending up at a nightclub!

"Oooh sounds like fun!" Thayet exclaimed. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't keep you. You'll give me a call when you have free time, alright?" She smiled at Alanna.

"Actually," Alanna said, smirking. She had noticed how much Thayet was getting under Jon's skin. If there was anything that he couldn't abide, it was people who rambled on for no reason. "Would you like to come with us? It will be a bit dull if we have the same group of people there that we see at school. A few new faces would be nice." Next to her, Jon clutched her wrist and squeezed hard. No matter how good-looking he might think Thayet to be, he didn't want her at the party.

"You're too kind!" Alanna couldn't help but smile in triumph. If Jon didn't appreciate Thayet, she knew that Gary or Raoul definitely would. Alex might not; he preferred petite blondes.

"Well hey," Jon interjected. "We wouldn't want to push this onto you so suddenly. I mean you've just met us." He looked down at Alanna and gave her that 'don't-say-another-word' look. She ignored it and waved a hand to silence Thayet from agreeing with Jon.

"We're offering to take you along so you can meet some people in the city. We leave in thirty minutes so if you want to meet us in front of the club then we can drive you there. We'll be looking forward to having you with us." Alanna smiled sweetly, something she usually never did.

"Thank you!" Thayet beamed, missing the tension between Alanna and Jon. "I actually came here with my friend, Buri. We came together to the city to start a music career. If it's alright with you, may I bring her along?"

"The more the merrier!" Alanna exclaimed. She said her good-byes to Thayet as she whisked off to find her friend Buri, while Jon politely smiled and gave a little wave. After Thayet had gone down the stairs to the bottom level, he turned to her.

"What the hell was that about?" He demanded. Alanna brushed off her sleeve.

"You heard her, she doesn't have any friends and this is the perfect opportunity for her to meet new people."

Jon rolled his eyes. "We can't go around inviting random people we've just met in clubs to our parties. What if she rats us out?" To be honest, Alanna hadn't thought of us. "All of us will get into so much trouble if she goes to the police after coming to our party. We're all under age and we'd get expelled from school."

"Jon, it'll be fine." Alanna sighed. "Besides, did you see the way Raoul and Gary were looking at her earlier? I'm sure they'll appreciate me inviting Thayet."

"You're not a matchmaker," He said between clenched teeth. "And that's terrible, just taking advantage of someone like that, just inviting her because your friends were checking her out."

"Drop it." Alanna swatted Jon across his shoulder. "Raoul and Gary are too honorable to try anything with Thayet unless she gives her consent first. It'll be fine." She repeated.

"I sure hope it'll be fine! If we get reported to the police by her and her friend, I'm going to be saying 'I told you so' all night long when we have to sit in that disgusting jail cell!"

Alanna snorted. "As if we'd really be spending any amount of time in jail when any one of your fathers could get the police to release us with one phone call and not a mark on our record."

"Yea," Jon nodded his head in agreement. "But then I have to listen to my father's crap for the next few months."

"Ok, well I'm sorry that you have a father that cares about you." Before Jon could say anything in retort, Alanna grabbed his hand. "Let's go downstairs and find the others. We should start regrouping if we want to actually go to this party. Which for the record, I still think it's a terrible idea."

"Hmph, not any worse than inviting random people." Was Jon's response. He left it at that, and went down the stairs to the raging dance floor. It was only towards the bottom that they let go of each other's hands. It took them a while to track down their friends. They found Alex with two giggling blondes in the dimly lit back of the club, all three on a red couch in a tight embrace of entwined arms and legs. After Alex had disentangled himself from the girls (no small feat in itself) he promptly announced the girls would be coming with them to the penthouse party. Jon and Alanna reminded him that they would leave soon and if he wasn't there in front of the club when it was time to go, then he would be stranded here until he found his own mode of transportation.

"Oh yeah, great," Jon exclaimed sarcastically as they left Alex and his entourage. "Let's just invite random people we just met in the club to a house party."

Alanna ignored him and looked around for either Gary or Raoul. She stood on her tiptoes to see if perhaps she might be able to at least spot Raoul over the mass of people. He was so big it surely must be hard to miss him. After they had pushed through people, searched the bar, went upstairs to search the lounge and finally went downstairs to survey the dancing floor again, without any luck of finding Gary or Raoul, they decided to let it be and hope that both of them would meet at their appointed meeting place at the correct time.

Jon began growing bored with their fruitless search and pulled Alanna into one of the side booths and drew her into a steamy make-out session. When they resurfaced for air, Alanna could feel Jon's throbbing erection against her thigh and blushed at the thought of him so turned on by _her._ Her cheeks grew redder when Jon massaged her thigh, working his way up higher. Of course she had to stop him when he got close to, well _that place_. That _place_ that was noticeably absent of the penis Jon suspected her to have. She moved his hand to her hip, a much safer place that he could caress without Alanna going into panic mood.

Alanna didn't know how much later it was when Raoul finally appeared at the booth. Neither of them noticed until Raoul tapped Alanna on the shoulder. She been so absorbed in Jon's kisses, his warm, fervid kisses, the ones that elicited rampant butterflies in her stomach, that made her heart pound against her chest and sent her blood rushing through her veins, fueling a desire she didn't know she had. Alanna turned a bright red and couldn't bear to look at Raoul. What would Raoul think of them? It seemed that Raoul either approved or didn't care since he didn't remark on it. He only wore a broad grin as he told them to hurry the hell up since the limo was waiting outside to take them to the penthouse. They drove there, the ride a bit more crowded than when they had arrived in the city with the addition of Thayet, Buri and Alex's twin blondes. They all squished together into the elevator and rode up to the top floor, Jon kissing the back of Alanna's neck as both of them were squeezed between Raoul and the wall of the elevator.

When the elevator doors finally opened, Alanna was overwhelmed by mainly two things: the vast spaciousness of Gary's family's penthouse and the amount of drunk people already there. When some of the aforementioned drunks saw Gary they cheered and grabbed him into their mist, promptly passing him a lit joint. That was the last of Gary that Alanna saw for that evening.

Jon took Alanna by the hand and grabbed a beer in the other. He pulled her around the living room and introduced her to various people whose names and other information she soon forgot.

"What exactly are we doing?" Alanna whispered in Jon's ear as they walked away from a group of people all with spiked , colored hair and nose piercings. The nose piercings looked cool on them, she thought. She might even have to get one herself, right after she finally got her ears pierced. Or would that look too odd on a boy? Alanna thought to ask George at some point if that was appropriate assuming she would survive this night and Jon didn't throw her body into the river after hearing her confession.

"Oh we're just making the rounds and showing people that we're here." Jon said happily. He had started on his third beer, heading towards tipsy but not drunk. Alanna had tried a glass of something and gasped as it seared her throat making its way down to her stomach. This was the end of alcohol for her!

"Plus we wouldn't want to seem rude, would we?" Jon winked at her. "What would other people possibly think if we come here and went straight to the bedroom?"

Alanna scoffed. "Who cares? They might think we're tired. And they're too drunk to even realize we're gone." Jon threw back his head and laughed. He drew her up for a kiss right in front of everyone. Some girl hooted.

"Jon!" She exclaimed. "Not here!" Her face turned its customary red.

"Someplace a little more private?" He mumbled in her ear. His breath tickled and Alanna could once again enjoy Jon's scent of cologne.

"Privacy would be appreciated, yes." Alanna whispered back. Jon pecked her once more on the cheek and then led her away from the crowded living room where a game of volleyball was starting, with four sides apparently. As Alanna correctly foretold earlier, no one noticed her and Jon slipping, most people too drunk or too focused on the makeshift volleyball game. Or they were too focused on the strip poker game going on in the kitchen where more stripping than poker was involved.

Jon and Alanna tried the first door only to walk into a group orgy. Alanna was more embarrassed for them than her actually seeing it. The next door they tried led them to a huge bathroom with a Jacuzzi. This room was also occupied, this time with Alex and the two blondes. He was thrusting into one from behind while she was bent over the side of tub and moaning out his name. The other blonde was busy playing with the nipples of the one Alex was busy thrusting into. Neither three of them even realized the door to the bathroom had been opened and they were being watched. Alanna slammed the door shut since Jon seemed too stunned to do anything but stand and stare. He jumped a little as the door closed in his face.

"Oh Mithros," He leaned against the wall. "What is seen cannot be unseen!" He said with an over-dramatic flourish.

"Yea, really. You'd think they would remember to lock the door." Was Alanna's meek answer. From then on they knocked before they opened any more doors.

As they went further down the hallway, Alanna couldn't help but think of how Jon imagined their sex to be like. Would he want her to get on her hands and knees and take from behind? Or would she lie on her back, in his fantasies? Was Jon intending to be gentle, taking his time to ensure _she_ would be pleasured too or would he be aggressive, making sure that _he_ received his pleasure? She looked up at his handsome face and hoped she wouldn't completely break his heart tonight.

At last they found an empty bedroom in a quiet hallway. They went in.

"Ah finally some long-needed privacy!" Laughing, Jon picked her up and spun her around. Alanna giggled uncharacteristically and wrapped her legs around Jon's waist. It was a bit unnerving being so high up. Did Jon ever get tired of being tall?

"By beloved little Alan," Jon said in a singsong voice. He stopped spinning and then stumbled a few paces before he collapsed onto the bed, Alanna underneath him. Jon started tickling her on her sides and Alanna was helpless to stop him as she shrieked with laughter.

"Oh Jon," she gasped. "Please! Stop!" Jon was relentless

"Stop?" Jon asked with innocence, although his bright blue eyes radiated mischief. "Stop what?"

"Stop tickling me!" Alanna managed between laughs.

"Stop tickling you? Ah but you're so cute when you're like this."

"You're evil!"

"How cruel!" Jon stopped tickling Alanna and straddled her hips. "I thought you loved me?" He pouted but still teasing.

Alanna pushed him off of her and pulled on his arm so that he was lying down next to her. "Course I love you silly; otherwise I wouldn't be here." If only he knew then they wouldn't be here either. Alanna snuggled up to Jon's side and sighed in contentment.

"Do you still want to be with me?" Jon asked quietly with no trace of teasing or playing.

"Yes, more than anything."

"No, I mean," Jon sighed and paused, as if looking for the right words. "I mean do you still want to have sex with me. Tonight."

"Well…" Alanna had waited so long for this moment, this question. The obvious answer was, duh, yes. But not in the way that Jon imagined.

"Could we…could we just lay here for a few minutes? My head is reeling." Alanna closed her eyes and leaned her head further on Jon's shoulder.

"You're such a lightweight." Jon nuzzled her. "It's kind of endearing actually." Alanna had one leg draped across Jon's body and her arm across his chest. They hadn't really cuddled like this in…well…never. A few times Jon had crawled in with her at night in their room but both of them had been too tired to try anything. Alanna usually awoke before him in the mornings and was safely showered and dressed by the time Jon woke up.

"Jon I have something to tell you." Alanna mumbled. Her hand resting on Jon's chest tightened around a fold of his shirt. So how exactly was she supposed to say it? She had imagined this for months and yet when the moment had come, she was at a complete loss for words. Should she just spit it out? Start out by complimenting him to put him in a better mood and then slowly move into the truth of it? Or should she stand up in front of him and hoist up the skirt of her costume?

_Gods be merciful,_ she thought. If she kept putting this off, Jon _was_ going to find out one way or another. _Here goes nothing…_

She clasped the front of Jon's shirt tighter as he started kissing her forehead. "Hey Jon."

"Mmmph." Was all of the reply she received.

"Have you ever thought that anything was ever off about me or thought maybe that I was weird?" Alanna asked. It was a bit of a silly question, not very smooth but then when had she ever been known for tack?

Jon chuckled. "Besides noticing that you're adorably short, adorably short-tempered, adorably red haired and entirely stubborn? Nope nothing out of the ordinary." He kept kissing her, now running his fingers through her hair.

"Nothing else?" She prodded and hoped it was enough of a hint to Jon that something was indeed out of the ordinary with her.

"What are you trying to get at?" He asked. "Are you in some kind of drug trafficking ring?" Now he was just teasing. Jon was more serious when he went on. "Alan, if you're asking me if I think you're weird, then yes I do think you're weird. But I love you for it because I haven't met anyone as charmingly weird as you are." He sat up and pulled Alanna into his lap. "I love you Alan." He tilted up her face to his with a gentle finger under her chin and leaned in to kiss her.

_I love you Alan_, he had said. Not _"I love you Alanna"_ like she had wanted him to say. As they kept kissing, Jon pushed her down to lie on the bed. Alanna didn't fight as Jon moved to position himself on top. He broke the kiss to cast an admiring glance over her, his eyes moving down from hers to linger on her mouth, her neck, her waist and _Oh blessed Mithros!_ to between her legs. Alanna turned her head to the side and felt the familiar blush rise up on her face. Jon saw it, even in the in the dim light and chuckled again.

"Have I mentioned that you're also adorably self-conscious?" He bent down and started kissing her neck and went lower to her collarbone. Once again Alanna was torn with the decision between letting Jon continue or making him stop. This time she decided for the latter. She gently pushed against Jon's shoulders. He looked back up at her, confusion written all over her face.

"What's wrong ?" he murmured. "Do you still want to do this?"

"Well yes, actually no." Alanna wiggled her way out from underneath Jon. The older boy sat up. "I mean just not right now? I'm sorry Jon." She bit her lower lip. "I can't do it. Sex. With you. Not when you don't know."

Jon's only response was to stare at her. When Alanna did not answer, he said, "What don't I know? Did something happen to you?" He reached out to touch her arm and Alanna got up to stand next to the bed. _The time has come…_

"I know that honesty and truth and openness have all been something that was very important to our relationship," Alanna began, her heart throbbing in her chest and her palms moist. And was that a slight shake in her voice as well? "But I feel absolutely awful because I haven't been completely honest with you." She stopped.

"Go on." Jon said slowly with uncertainty.

Alanna took a deep breath. "My brother and I are twins. Not twin boys as many people now seem to think but he, Thom, is a boy while I'm his twin sister."

Jon scoffed. "Alan you're shitting me. You're talking nonsense. You can't possibly be a girl."

"But I am!" She exclaimed. "Listen, hear me out! Before school started, Thom was supposed to go to Conté d'Royale. Our father wanted him to become a politician or become involved in politics or whatever but Thom didn't want that. He had never wanted that. And I was supposed to be sent to the convent school in the City of the Gods. I would have died there. I would have never been happy in that dreaded place! I was always the child that was into sports, the outdoors, fencing, taking charge and I don't think I've ever worn a dress or skirt since I was three! I could have never survived there. So I came up with the idea of switching places so Thom could go to the technological school that was in the City of the Gods and I would go to Conté d'Royale and everything would be perfect. Thom and I are identical in every way except for our height and hair length. Nobody would ever have expected anything. But I would go as a boy so our father wouldn't be suspicious if a girl just suddenly appeared at the school and because I didn't want to be bullied as the only girl in the school." Alanna sighed with all the weariness of an old woman. Finally, she had said it aloud!

When Jon opened his mouth to speak, she cut him off. "I never intended to come here and meet someone as, as wonderful as you and have a relationship with anyone. I didn't do this to hurt you or to make a fool of you. I just felt so happy being together and didn't think that you would come to love me. And it's been increasingly harder and harder to keep it from you because I didn't know if you were going to resent me since I lied or if you were going to tell and I was going to be kicked out. I didn't know how to go about telling you."

Jon closed his eyes and massaged his forehead. "If you are a girl how did manage…" He looked at her sharply. "Wait I've never seen you naked! Or even half-naked! Not in the locker room or in the gym showers. And most definitely not even in our room! That's why you're apparently so self-conscious!" It seemed as if it were all coming together for Jon. "So where are your breasts? If you have any at all that is." Alanna didn't know if Jon had meant for it to come out so rudely or not but his question still stung.

"I keep them bound during the day." She whispered. Now that she had confessed, the look on Jon's face was too much to bear. He looked as if she had betrayed him and rightly so. Never in her life had Alanna felt so guilty of anything. It was an even worse situation than she had imagined. But yet Jon hadn't yelled at her or said he hated her. Yet that coldness that formed in his eyes was piercing and Alanna wished she had never followed Jon out into the forest that one fateful night.

She felt her eyes fill up with tears and she turned around so Jon would not see her wiping them away. Jon did not say anything. Alanna only heard a rustle of blankets as Jon shifted position on the bed. Finally, finally, after a few antagonizing minutes he spoke.

"So what's your real name?" His tone was as cold as glacial ice.

"Alanna."

"Alanna." Jon tested her name, as if discovering her for the first time.

Alanna turned to meet him. Both of them looked at each other, both of them not knowing what to say.

"You lied to me," he said softly.

"I didn't want to," Alanna pleaded. "Please believe me that I didn't know what to do."

"I thought I loved a boy." Jon said, the bitterness of his tone making Alanna shirk. "I thought this, what we had between us, was going to be something based on honesty and all of it was a big fat lie."

"I'm still the same person."

"Are you?" Jon asked with disbelief. "Because in my book there's a huge difference between someone being male and female."

"Well that's…" Alanna wanted to say stupid. She wanted to tell him that he was being stupid. "It's not like I changed my personality you dolt! I'm still bad-tempered, I still say what I want and I have the same sense of humor. That doesn't just go away because I have a vagina instead of a dick!"

"The fact still remains, you certainly lied to me." Jon repeated. "And not just to me, but to Gary, Raoul, Alex, the Headmaster, the teachers, everyone here at this school thinks you're a boy! It wasn't one lie but a continuous stream of lies"

"It was the only way…" Alanna started but Jon cut her off.

"Only way for what? Some sick plan of yours?"

"No, no, no!" She begged. "That's not it. I never had a plan to take advantage of anyone. I didn't expect to date…or fall in love." Alanna whispered the last few words.

Jon laughed cruelly. "After everything I've just discovered, you still expect me to believe that you love me? I suppose I should feel special." He added. "That I was the lucky idiot that you 'fell in love with'."

"No Jon, please I really do love you!" Alanna got to her feet and shouted, all her pent up rage finally escaping. "Do you know how hard it's been to keep it a secret from you?"

"Oh yes, I suppose I should feel some degree of pity for you, the poor girl who took advantage of her situation." Jon replied bitterly.

"It wasn't like that!" Alanna stomped her foot. A childish move but she couldn't care: she would have to make Jon understand. "I didn't plan on this happening! All I wanted was to get a good education! That's all!"

"A likely story." Jon snorted. "What kind of education? Human anatomy? Kissing techniques? Seduction?"

"I was going to be sent to the convent school!" Alanna screamed. "I didn't want to go there! I hate everything about it and all that it stands for. I wanted the freedom to make my own choices based on what I like and not being forced to do something because it was proper."

"So that's ok?" John yelled back, a vein visibly throbbing in his forehead. "It seems to me that you've done this for your own selfish reasons!"

"How is this selfish?"

Jon scoffed and looked at Alanna as if she had three heads. "Did you really just ask me that? How is this selfish? Well first off it obviously seems to me that you were only doing this for your own reasons because you didn't want to go to some all-girls school where they didn't have the sports team that you wanted." John's voice became laced with sarcasm and unable to stop himself, he kept going, heedless of Alanna's pleading face. "You didn't stop to think how this would affect other people. I thought you someone completely different, someone I didn't have to hide my feelings from or act like I had to prove something to you. I really thought everything would just work out for us!"

Alanna, shame-faced and holding back tears, looked away from Jon, not being able to bar his accusing gaze.

"Well? Aren't you going to say anything?" Jon asked impatiently.

"What do you want me to say? I'm sorry for leading you on?" Alanna said. "Because it seems that you're not going to believe anything I say anyway. You've got all of this figured out already. Why should I waste my breath if I you won't even listen?"

"What? I have been listening!" Jon shouted.

Alanna was now exasperated at this point. She turned to Jon once again. "I told you I'm sorry. I didn't mean for any of this to happen but I'm glad I did. I didn't want to go to Conté d'Royale and be judged only because of my gender. I thought if I disguised myself as a boy, things would be easier! But it's been a pain in the ass trying to hide my gender, do good in class, put up with jackass bullies, be rejected by the fencing team which was the only thing I was even looking forward to, and…" She paused briefly. "And I never thought in a thousand years I would meet you and become so irresistibly, damningly attracted to you! I didn't expect to be put in a room with you!"

"Alan! I mean, er, Alanna," It was an awkward stumble and Alanna felt a little better inside, knowing that not even Jon had everything together all the time. "Why the fuck didn't you just tell me from day one when you moved into the same room with me? I wouldn't have minded keeping your secret if I knew how much it meant to you! For all I knew I was suddenly rooming with this boy that made me feel like I was on cloud nine, like I was with someone that I could really, just be with and not worry about whatever the hell you thought. You were the one who got my blood pumping like no one else had before and now I find out that I didn't get to know the real you."

"It's a fucking different gender, not a complete different person you moron!" Alanna shrieked. "I hate how you're trying to make this all about you, you, you! You're not even trying to understand it from my point of view! So yes I lied to you but I came clean! I could have kept lying to you all the way to the end of the year!"

"Sure, that would have worked, especially if I had lifted up your skirt tonight without you telling me all of this and found out myself!"

Alanna scrunched her hands together, her nails digging into her palms. "Tell me Jon, why are you so pissed off?"

"Because you fucking lied to me!" There was no patience left in Jon's voice. "I thought I loved a boy, but he was only a girl on a masquerade. And you did it for two months, while we had agreed on a relationship based on honesty and trust. Excuse me for being a little upset!"

"Alright Jon, but please listen to me now." Alanna begged him. She gave up trying to make him understand. She'd rather try to salvage what she could of their relationship. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry for hurting you and I'm sorry for lying to you. I don't want you to be so angry at me. Jon, you have to believe me when I say that I love you and never, ever, ever intended to hurt you. But remember how much we enjoyed being together? Do you want to give that up? If you need time away from me, away from us, then so be it but please don't ignore me!"

Jon fell quiet and his face assumed a more neutral expression.

_Oh no, what's he thinking now?_ Alanna worried.

"You know what…" he began. As soon as he said it Alanna's heart dropped right into her stomach. Whatever he was going to say would obviously not be any of the good news she had expected.

When he answered, Jon's voice was cold steel. "I think you may be right. I do need some time to think things over between us. We need to take a break."

* * *

**This chapter pissed me off so much. The main focus is Alanna and Jon's conversation when she finally reveals her secret. That took FOREVER! Yeah it was a pain. Review because I really want to know what you thought. You really don't understand how much it means to be when I get some nice constructive criticism so I can improve.**

**I always thought it odd that Jon never freaked out about Alanna hiding her gender all those years and lying to everyone at the Palace. It was like "Oh you're a girl? Ok that's cool. You can be my squire." So I really wanted to make it so Jon's reaction would be a little bit more…realistic, especially considering here they're both "together".**

**Ok I don't really like the idea of fifteen year-old Alanna having sex so she is now sixteen. Jon, Raoul and Gary are now eighteen, Alex is seventeen and Francis and Douglass are sixteen. They do high school differently in Tortall so you're nineteen when you graduate XD**


	19. A Thief's Business

**Ok I don't really like the idea of fifteen year-old Alanna having sex so she is now sixteen. Jon, Raoul and Gary are now eighteen, Alex is seventeen and Francis and Douglass are sixteen. They do high school differently in Tortall so you're nineteen when you graduate.**

* * *

Duke Roger Conté made it very clear on the first day of him teaching gym class that they were to address him as either "Coach Roger" or simply "Roger". So many of the boys were obviously in too much awe to consider calling him only by his first name and many were too busy fawning over him that they accidentally addressed him as "Coach Conté" or "Mr. Conté". He had laughed and said that since there was already a Mr. Conté in the class (here, the duke gave a small wink to Jon) he would not want to confuse the lot of them by having another one around. And so, it came to pass that Coach Roger quickly become everyone's favorite teacher in the school. Everyone's favorite except Alanna.

_I already have one annoying Conté man to deal with and now I must put up with another? _Alanna had tried not to scowl so considerably when Coach Roger waltzed into class on Monday after the Festival of the Dead weekend and announced that he would be taking over as gym teacher. This caught everyone off guard. It had been the gossip of the school that he would soon take over the old coaching position but for him to come so suddenly? Surely they were the luckiest students in all of Tortall!

And no matter how often Alanna thought over it for the next two weeks, she could not figure out for the life of her what exactly about Roger Conté it was that grated her nerves so. Sure he was charming (but Jon was even more so, when he wasn't being a bastard). Roger had perfectly styled brown-black hair (she much preferred Jon's slightly mussed black hair, although she'd love to take a racket to his head) and those piercing blue Conté eyes (Jon's were much warmer than this stranger's, but yet Alanna wanted to poke Jon's eyes out with hot needles). And of course Roger had done this and that; Alanna wanted to tear her own hair out every time some kid in class whispered some non-relevant accomplishment whenever Coach Roger had his back turned. After the first week of having him here, Alanna decided to go look up exactly what made Roger so special that people had to piss their pants every time the man looked at them. When she typed in his name into Google Alanna did expect something but not as much as what popped up. For her entire Friday evening that week she sat in her room and read over everything there was. She didn't even look up as Jon came in their room around midnight.

Duke Roger Conté was the nephew to the current Prime Minister, Roald Conté. Roger had graduated from this school many years ago as valedictorian of his graduating class with honors in math, science, history, sociology and language. He had been the captain of the fencing team since his sophomore year and won the end of the year competition four years in a row. He had also won the title of Best Junior Fencer in Tortall in his junior and senior year. After high school, he went to the prestigious university in Carthak where he received a degree in medicine, astronomy, sociology and international affairs. Even there Roger continued his fencing career and went on to win numerous competitions and was the current title holder of best fencer in the Eastern Lands. A prince from the Yamani Islands had heard of this and came to Tortall to challenge Roger. The prince left sorely defeated. Roger had found a cure for the Sweating Sickness for his senior dissertation and won an award from the Prime Minister. After his years at the Carthaki University he came to Tortall and was appointed as ambassador to Galla for a few years before settling in as a highly sought out guest lecturer in colleges in the Eastern Lands, the Copper Isles and the Yamani Islands. All this and the man was only thirty.

It was around one a.m that Alanna finished reading through every biography on the internet she could find about her current gym teacher. To everyone else, this man was a living genius and to say that you personally knew him was a great honor. To Alanna, she found it highly suspicious that such a successful young man with so many accomplishments would be content with being a high school's gym teacher. And fencing coach; she couldn't forget that, even if she was not on the said fencing team. She tapped her fingers on her thigh in annoyance. Perhaps she was over-thinking this. Perhaps Roger really had just been looking for the right calling and he had found it in teaching therefore being happily content at the prospect of working here for the rest of his long years. She scoffed. Yes, and perhaps Alanna and Ralon should have a slumber party and spill all their deepest secrets to each other.

"Hey." That simple statement made Alanna snap out of her Roger thoughts. Ever since the Festival of the Dead, Alanna and Jon's relationship had gone from cloud nine to nonexistent. He now could no longer refer to her as 'Alan' and he could not manage to say 'Alanna'. So now whenever Jon wanted to get her attention he simply referred to her as 'Hey' even around their friends. It made for an extremely awkward and uncomfortable atmosphere whenever they would get together with their friends. Alex had made some sly comment on it but Jon had snapped back with a sharp "What's it to you?" and no one brought to it up again when they were in a group. It was a different tune whenever Alex, Gary or Raoul tried to wring something out of her in private. Alanna did the best she could to squash their suspicions by telling them that yes, Jon and her had an argument but it would blow over in no time. Many times they asked what exactly the nature of the argument was but she always answered "Mind your own damn business." It didn't help that now she had distanced herself from her friends. All of it Jon's fault of course.

"Have you seen my iPod?" Jon asked. When he had said 'Hey', Alanna's heart jumped a beat. She had been so hoping that Jon might want to talk, might want to initiate some conversation about Alanna's confession. But no, he was asking her for his motherfucking iPod. How was she supposed to know where the damn thing was? She hadn't used it last!

A dozen other profanity laced retorts came to mind but Alanna only replied with "No I haven't seen it at all." And that was the end of their fruitful conversation that night. When Jon got up that Saturday morning to go to his fencing meet, Alanna almost jumped out of bed. She wanted to. She wanted to wish him good luck. She also wanted to take a foil to Jon's hide and beat him until he felt as awful as he had been making her feel but she restrained herself and rolled over to go back to sleep.

So now, two weeks later and Jon and Alanna were still on barely talking terms. Aside from 'Good morning', 'Good night', 'Where is this item' and 'Did you get the homework for this class?' they said little else to each other. Before when they conversed little in the evening it was either because they were both tired or had a pile of homework. It was still the same: both came back to their room after a long day of work and exercise, both tired and carrying books for their homework but now, like with friends, it was uncomfortable. There were no more uplifting smiles or small touches when they brushed past each other. No more sudden hugs and especially no more kisses.

And worst of all, she had no one to tell. Alanna could not tell Coram about this. She didn't know quite exactly what he would do, besides curse her for her stupidity and possibly drag her back home. No, Coram was out of the question. Perhaps she might be able to tell Thom. He was her twin and no matter what kind of shenanigans Alanna managed to get into she knew she could always count on Thom to understand. She had called him a total of four times. Once it had gone to voice mail but the other three times Thom picked up Alanna could not bear to let him know how she had screwed up so badly. So instead of telling him what she had been going through Alanna opted to tell Thom about classes, about Coram, about school, about the Festival of the Dead festivities she had gone to but left out everything about Jon. Only when she said good-bye and hung up after the fourth time did Alanna sit down and start crying. She almost wished that Thom would call and hear her crying so she would absolutely have to tell him what was wrong. She sniffled back a few tears and put a stop to her blubbering.

_How silly and childish of me! _Alanna thought_. I am not some fourteen year old empty-headed school girl that had to rely on some damned boy to keep me happy. I am Alanna Trebond and I will act like it! _Instead of focusing on Jon that night, Alanna found herself focusing on his older cousin, not that it was a healthy substitute. She managed to find a copy of Roger's dissertation of his cure for the Sweating Sickness and read it completely through with a medical dictionary handy.

It wasn't until many months later after the events of the school year had died down when Alanna admitted to herself that her frustrated obsession with Roger Conté had only served to keep Jonathon off her mind.

* * *

The writing prompt in Composition and Writing class was easy enough: write a short fictional story about grief and loss. It was all Alanna could do to restrain herself from not ripping up the prompt paper into shreds and throwing it into Mr. Huron's face. Were the gods purposely taunting her? Was this her punishment? To be reminded of Jon in every class period, even when he actually wasn't there? It had been hard enough dragging herself back to their room after they had come back from the city. It had been harder still when she realized she would be there alone that night since Jon went to go sleep in Raoul's room. And still it had been so hard not to sit up and wait all night hoping that Jon would stumble in some time in the early morning. Alanna had stayed awake until four a.m. and only then when she was absolutely certain that Jon would not return soon did she curl up with her pillow and cry. And cry. And cry. And cry. Only when her head started throbbing and her throat was sore did Alanna finally rip off her stupid red costume dress, toss it in the wastebasket and go back to bed to sleep. She had woken up that afternoon and still Jon had not returned. Her eyes had still been red from crying last night. It was a small mercy that Jon didn't see her like that. She would have never admitted to it, much like never admitting to Ralon giving her a black eye.

As for her short story in Composition class...Alanna ended up writing about a beautiful princess whose country was in the middle of a civil war and was dealing with the death of her mother. She wasn't entirely sure where the idea had sprung from but it met the requirements and Alanna turned it in at the end of the class. She knew it was a piece of poor quality but she was past caring. Many things she handed in these days were of poor quality. Alanna just found it harder and harder to concentrate of late and many assignments were turned it half done or half-assed. She absolutely refused to admit that loosing Jon was causing her so much pain. After all, she didn't need to rely on him to regulate her emotions.

Yet at the same when Alanna handed in her terribly written work, she still hated Jon for making her feel this way.

* * *

Lunch was dreadful. Or it had been the first week. Seeing Jon sitting across the table and laugh and joke with all their friends and completely ignore her was torture. Her first reaction was to feel as someone had put a knife in her chest. Although she had sat across from him like she had the entire semester, Jon never once deemed it worth his effort to look at her. Not so much as a glance or a peek from the corner of his eye. The first day, Alanna could only manage a few bites and sipped it all down with water while her stomach continually tied it's stupid self into knots. The second day brought no relief. The third day it was apparent to even Ralon her bully that something was amiss in their group. And on the fourth day, Alanna went to the vending machine in the lounge, bought a sandwich and from then on, ate in her greenhouse haven.

* * *

Alanna dragged herself up the main stairs to her dorm room. On one shoulder hung her school bag, heavily loaded with yet more homework. From her other shoulder hung her bag of fencing equipment. Not making it onto the team during the first semester had seemed like a nightmare, until Alanna realized it didn't mean that she would have to stop practicing altogether. So while her friends had their official practices and meets, Alanna would find a practice room in the athletic hallway and trained by herself; sometimes she was lucky enough to find another person training there and challenged them. Usually that person would fight her once and suffered such a defeat at the hands of Alanna that they deemed it quite sufficient to be humiliated by the short stocky boy. Alanna didn't mind. Alone she could perfect her stance and techniques without someone watching her every move.

Cursing the school for its lack of elevators, Alanna wiped her sweaty brow and trudged along until she finally reached her room. She jiggled the key in the lock, realizing that her door was unlocked. That was strange. Jon couldn't have been in here at this time. He was still at practice. Alanna carefully nudged open her door, ready to whip out a foil if need be.

On her bed lay George, fast asleep.

Alanna could only stand in her doorway in confusion before she managed to close her door and dump her bags at the foot of her bed. George awoke suddenly and rubbed his eyes, taking a few moments to become aware of exactly where he was.

"Hello lass," He grinned, which made him more handsome than before. "Have you missed me much?"

A welcoming face was exactly what Alanna needed right now. She hugged him tight around his shoulders, surprising herself and George at the same time. "Silly thing to say to a friend you haven't seen in a while."

"I'll take that as a yes!" George hugged her back, warm arms encircling her small frame. It had been forever since she last saw her thief friend. Their texts and sporadic phone calls didn't make up for seeing him in person.

"I don't mean to be blunt - "

George's hazel eyes flashed. "But I know you will be."

Alanna stood in front of him and placed her hands on her hips. "What in the name of the Great Mother Goddess are you doing here? And during school hours? And how did you get in?" Honestly, this school's security sucked. If George could come and go as he pleased without someone saying a word than anyone could get in. Or not, Alanna considered. After all, wasn't George King of the Rouges? Surely sneaking into a boarding school with minimal security was the least dangerous job he must have faced in months, if not years.

"So many questions you ask me but yet none of them are about how I'm doing or how my business is or even about my poor mother." George crossed muscular arms across his chest and tried to adopt a disappointed expression.

"Alright George how have you been? How's business? And I didn't even know you had a mother but how is she doing?" Alanna said, exasperated already.

"Everything is just fine thanks. A couple of pesky…customers didn't want to pay for their goods they ordered but my boys and I sorted it all out. Nobody died and everyone involved still has their limbs so it was a good transaction. My mother Eleni is doing well like always. It'll take the end of the world to shake that woman. After all she did raise me all by her lonesome."

"…Do people usually loose limbs in your line of business? And your poor mother having to deal with you by herself."

"Ha! Poor mother indeed. People don't lose limbs all the time but every once in a while somebody will show up with a hand missing or a forearm or a foot. Nothing too serious. I usually said them right on to the hospital where my mother works and she can manage to reattach anything. Except a head."

"That's good to know. Gods forbid should someone lose their leg or a head. And again, your poor mother!"

"After raising me I'm sure my mother could do anything." George smiled and looked up at her Metallica poster above her bed. "But yes, heads are usually trickier to reattach than a hand. It's a company rule that you can't lose your head or else you're fired."

"How has that worked to improve morale?"

"I'll have to get back to you on. More study is needed." Now he was looking at her again. Alanna got a strange feeling in her stomach and wondered if now was the time to make an absurd excuse and run out the door. "Now that we've cleared away all the niceties, I suppose you'll want to know why I'm here. As it turns out, your friends are worried about you. Said you've been acting strange for a fortnight and haven't given up a single clue as to why."

Alanna had enough of this mother-hen behavior. Gary and Raoul had personally taken it upon themselves to pester her relentlessly, saying that it was in her "best interest" to let them "help" her. What did she need help with exactly? How did George even find out about this? She hadn't told him. Suddenly, it dawned on her.

"Let me guess. Gary called." Alanna crossed her arms over her chest.

"What's wrong with Gary calling? He's a nice enough lad. And he's worried about you. He didn't call me to drag my ass up here so I could pester you or for me to report back to him once you've spilled your little heart out to me. Gary called because he thought you should talk to someone."

"I'd rather you just come to harass me. I don't need to talk to anyone because nothing happened! Why do they keep bothering me about stupid things like that when I can take care of myself? I don't want them meddling in mine and Jon's business. And I'm sure Jon would appreciate it too if you didn't snoop around where it doesn't concern you. "

"It's practically my livelihood to snoop. Was it Jon that did you in, lass?"

"What?"

"Gary did mention you had some sort of squabble with that lad. But Gary doesn't know you pulled a gender-bending stunt and are strutting around as a boy. And this whole business with Jon, being friends one day and not the next, you have to admit it's a wee bit fishy."

"First off, I don't strut. Secondly, there's nothing fishy about a disagreement between friends. It will blow over and soon we'll all be merrily skipping around school in no time."

"Do you expect me to believe that lass? I can see why you won't want to talk to Gary. But what about me? I already know you're not a boy and I don't go to your school. I won't have anyone to tell about this. Please lass tell me what's been a-bothering you. Sometimes you only have to talk to a friend to remind you that the world doesn't stop because one bad thing happened. And you can relax, I won't judge you. You're definitely not the worst person I've met. Hell you won't believe some of the blokes I run into in my line of work. And I'd rather be having a somewhat normal conversation with you right now than going back to the Dancing Dove for more work."

"I just don't want to explain it. It's not as if I don't want to tell you because I don't trust you. It's that," Alanna sighed and looked at George. He waved his hand for her to continue. "I don't want you to think I'm a screw-up."

"You're not a screw-up, no matter what you tell me." He swatted her gently on her head. "I'll tell you a story about screwing up. When I was younger, before my ma found a job at the hospital, we were living on Spindle Lane in the Lower City, and you can only guess how jolly that must have been." Alanna nodded. Spindle Lane was notorious for its high numbers of crime and violence. "Long story short, I fell into the wrong crowd too early. I loved the thrill of it. Finally I found someplace where I felt as if I belonged and I would come home with pickings from the heists I took part in. My mother, she's a smart and proud woman. She wouldn't accept none of what I brought home. I tried to make life easier for her, bringing back money, jewelry even food but she always tried to sway me to stop. I didn't listen obviously. I found something to do outside of school and it meant I didn't have to spend time in my miserably run down home.

"One night, a group and me were sneaking into a house we'd been eying for a couple of weeks. The owners were some wealthy schmucks with a huge mansion. We thought it'd be just ripe for a picking but we waited til they were clear of the house before we'd make a move. Little did we know those wealthy schmucks were onto us and it wasn't until later that we figured out that one of own had ratted us out. So we were in this mansion, thinking the owners were on some vacation and the next thing we know we were surrounded by cops. I managed to slip past and was running out the front gate when I was shot. When I came to I was lying in a hospital bed in some prison infirmary. I did one year in juvenile detention and I had to sit by while my mother worked herself into debt whilst paying for legal fees and whatnot." George was playing with the hem of his shirt, his eyes cast down.

"I was the screw-up," He continued. "I had to watch my mother cry when she came to visit me. Had to watch her come in with old patched clothes and I sat inside and twiddled my thumbs. 'Course when I got out it was a different story." George immediately brightened up but Alanna would not forget the sadness that had come over him when speaking of seeing his mother. "I knew I had to change my ways soon or I wouldn't survive on the streets much longer. So I swallowed by pride and went out to broker peace between some of the more violent gangs. I got stabbed a few times, fought a few fights more than I care to remember and in the end I was crowned King of the Rouges and the streets of Lower City have answered to me since then!" George said, his voice smug with pride.

"Hang on, I'm a little confused." Alanna narrowed her eyes at George. "Crime got you into that mess but yet you continued to do it? Doesn't that run counterintuitive with the moral of your story?"

George grinned his mischievous grin again. "Stupid teenagers stealing TVs and having fifty different gangs on the streets is what did me in. Once I figured out that consolidating everything and making it into an organized crime business was a better option, I did just that and became King of the Rouges. And now look: we all work on a common cause and if you're ratted out by some traitor, well you'll rest easy knowing every thief and rouge in the city will be after that back stabber. Besides, did I even so much as mention that my story had a moral?" George sighed and sat more comfortably on her bed. Alanna mulled over this.

"Now that I've told you a little bit about myself I think it's high time you told me more about yourself." He winked at her. "Specifically a certain fight between you and a blue-eyed heart throb on a certain holiday two weeks ago."

Alanna stood and pressed her hands over her mouth closing her eyes. On one hand she didn't want to tell George about anything but on the other hand, she knew he wouldn't leave until she did. She turned to him and broke out in tears.

"That bad?" George gave a sympathetic look and took her in his arms. Alanna couldn't stop weeping.

"What an idiot!" She said into her friend's shoulder while cursing Jon. "I'm an idiot and he's an idiot. I lied to him and to everyone and I got myself into this stupid mess. I muddled everything up so badly and now Jon is hurting and he probably hates me right now!"

"Shush he doesn't hate you." George affectionately stroked her hair. "Why don't you

"Alright George; if I explain to you what happened that night, can you swear to me that you won't say anything about to Gary." Alanna sniffled. "And don't tell him anything that would make him think I'm a girl. That would really suck for me if you did. Then I'd have to beat you with my sword." She was sure her threat was made clear until George laughed.

"That little pig-sticker? I'd have you down on the ground before you took two steps lassie. But that's not what I'm here for. Go on. Spill."

And Alanna told George exactly what transpired between her and Jon since she had come to school. And it felt so wonderful to finally be able to tell somebody! Throughout her tale, George never interrupted her and didn't even so much as raise an eyebrow when she came to the bathroom scene at the club. Of course her face went red as she described how it was at that moment that she had told Jon she wanted to have sex with him that night and had been the moment when she thought it best to reveal her secret in the privacy of the bedroom in the penthouse. She left out the make-out and cuddling sessions; George could use his own imagination to determine the extent of physical interactions in Jon and Alanna's "relationship".

When Alanna finished, ending with Jon's forceful proposal to take a break, George whistled.

"That arrogant flap-mouthed weasel." He shook his head. "What a confounded, miserable, limp-dicked, pox-scarred son-of-a-bitch he is!" The Rouge muttered another string of curse ridden insults before sighing heavily.

"And you've been crying over him lass?"

"I thought you said you wouldn't think of me as a screw-up!" Alanna choked on her words and felt the tears welling up again. She found herself crying into George's shoulder again.

"I never said that!" George exclaimed and hugged her tight to him. "I was so surprised lass. You of all people crying over a boy!"

"It's ridiculous isn't it?" She sobbed.

"Naw it's only the hurt of first love." His voice was gentle. Alanna cleared her throat and stopped crying.

"How am I supposed to get over it?" Alanna leaned over to her nightstand to reach for a tissue. Her eyes would be red and she'd look a frightful mess. Hopefully George wouldn't mind her temporary ugliness.

"In normal circumstances I'd advise you to move one. However I think this may be a tad more complicated."

"So I do have to talk to Jon." She said sullenly. That is, if Jon even wanted to talk to her.

"Yes you will have to." George said rather forcefully. "I hate to say this, especially when Jon sounds like he was being an arrogant little prick, but you're at fault too. You did lead him on and you didn't even have the balls to tell him you're a girl when he told you he loved you." Alanna looked down at the tissue wadded in her hands. "Look lass, everyone makes mistakes. Some worse than others. Yes you may have broken dear lover boy's heart but I'm sure he doesn't hate you."

"Hmph." Alanna sat in silence and George followed her lead.

After some time, Alanna looked back up at him.

"I know what I did wasn't honest," she admitted, although not happily. "I have some making up to do. It's only something that I can do and no amount of yours or Gary's meddling will help. I don't how I'm going to get Jon to talk about it but if needs be I'll pin him to my bed and force him to listen." She saw George glance over at her fencing bag, amusement playing along the features of his face.

"Ever so subtle," He chuckled. "But honestly lass, don't worry so much about what Jon does. Say your apologies and give him time to think. Men always take longer to process thing than women." At this Alanna had to laugh.

George stood to leave.

"Oh I almost forgot this, lass." With a sly wink, George pulled out a small blue box from his backpack. Strange, it looked exactly like the one tucked away in her underwear drawer...

Mortified (and as red-faced as a drunken sailor), Alanna took the box of tampons George offered and hid it behind her back as she sputtered out a hopefully coherent sounding word of thanks.

"Remember when you came clambering down in the middle of the night like a frightened kitten and I was so kind as to find something for your particular ailment?" George zipped up his backpack and slung it over his shoulder, grinning the whole time. "Those happened to belong to my cousin Rispah. She's rather like you with a sharp tongue to match and hair near as fiery as yours. Although she's much taller in stature than you." Here, Alanna stuck out her tongue at the thief. "Rispah was in a mighty fine storm when I confessed to the crime the next morning. I had to tell her about you lass otherwise she would have gelded me right in front of my own people."

_So much for trying to be discreet around here_, Alanna thought. _Maybe next week I'll just parade around in my panties for some laughs. _"Your cousin Rispah: is she trustworthy at least?"

"Aye, aside from my own mother she's the most trustworthiest person I know. Don't worry, she won't tell a soul. And you have her to thank for her lovely, eh, gift. She suggested I bring you another box, just in case."

"Tell her I wish I could thank her in person. This is one thing less to worry about. And also please tell your cousin that she doesn't have to geld you. That would hurt your business if word got out." _Pert as always._

George chortled. "Thank you kindly lass for looking out for me." He gave her a long, warm hug. Alanna nestled her head against his strong chest and again enjoyed that Rouge-ish scent of him. When he pulled away, Alanna wished she could just pull him back and have him hold her for a while longer. Who knew when the next time would be when she would be held so tenderly?

"You ring me up immediately if you need anything else, alright?" George lifted her chin to tilt her face up to his. With a dizzying thought, Alanna realized he was so much taller than Jon. And she liked that. "Whatever Jon does to you lass, I wouldn't lose sleep on it. You two both have amends to make and it isn't business for others to meddle in, although I wish you two would hurry up and apologize." He paused to think. "Well I think your Jonny-boy would be better off giving you an apology first and if he doesn't, I think you know who to call. I can be discreet when needed."

At this Alanna giggled. It had been much too long since she felt so light-hearted and she had missed George with his easy-going nature. "We should get together this weekend." She suggested, a little hesitantly. George probably had other things to do: drug deals to make, goods to smuggle and a club to run.

"That'd be perfect." George smiled. "If you don't have a car, I'll have someone pick you. Perhaps my lovely cousin Rispah? She's quite anxious to meet you." Alanna agreed and arranged a time to be picked up. With one last hug George left and Alanna was alone in her room. She rubbed her stomach as it grumbled in hunger. Without George there to distract her, Alanna realized just how hungry she was. It was later in the evening with thirty minutes left before dinner ended. She had come to know that few ate during this time and no one she knew would be there. Still in her gym clothes, she locked her door and hurried down to the dining hall. Sadly, she never made it.

Half-way there, as she was walking down a seemingly empty corridor deep in giddy thought over seeing George again this weekend, someone shouted "Hey short stuff." Alanna glanced up and there was Ralon and his gang coming down the hallway towards her.

* * *

**Now with all the major characters having been introduced and/or at least mentioned we can move at a quicker pace with the story. Never thought I'd get to this point. And sorry to end the chapter with another Ralon cliff-hanger: I feel awful because I've neglected that slimy bastard, especially when he played such as important role in SOTL.**

**Hurray for George! I want George to be lying on my bed when I open my door. Without clothes. And with an equally naked Jon next to him…too much information? Review!**


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